Urban Misfits
by Raydamightyfelixchu
Summary: A young and ambitious dog moves into the ghettos of Rally Alley, eventually finding a group of friends who share the same common interests and life situations with him. Join Parappa and the misfits in both their misadventures, as well as some real ones through the ghettos of the Alley.
1. Chapter 1

**Now before we begin, I need to address a few things. First off, this is a major crossover between different cartoons as well as a sprinkle of made up ones. It is also AU so they may act a bit different from their original selves. Second, the story is first person. Parappa reflects on the events that happened to him as well as his peers. And last but not least, this story is a bit more serious than my other ones. It will still have its comedy here and there, but the situations these characters face aren't really the best to come across. I will soon make this story into a comic, but I wanted to get a guideline first, and a story would do just that! So now, I give you "Urban Misfits".**

* * *

_Dark. Unpleasant. Mysterious. Dangerous. Four words I give to the city known as Rally Alley. Its name sent shivers down people's spines when it was brought forth in conversation. Why though? Well, out of majority of the cities in the world, this one had the highest crime rate, the worst weather, and the poorest people. It reminded me of the city those humans in the shows referred to as "Detroit". You may be asking, 'Well why are we even talking about it if it is that bad?' Unfortunately, my misadventure, as well as the majority of my life took place in that city: The city I learned to respect._

* * *

It started out as a typical summer day in Parappa Town. My father and Mother had purchased tickets for theatre performance, and I was stuck babysitting my annoying baby sister, Pinto. She was barely one years old and she already caused me grief. "Please Mom, you gotta take her with you! I can watch myself! Honest!" I complained and crawled to my mother's feet. I guess when it came to desperate situations like that, I acted more like a toddler than a healthy five year old.

"Parappa dear, you are too young to be left alone. The theatre performance won't even last more than three hours." My mother gave me that warm smile that I loved yet hated.

"Besides, this will give you and your sister time to bond!" My father came from behind my mom and put an arm around her. What did he mean by 'bond'? I'd rather bond with the monkeys at the zoo than her.

"You guys can't be serious…" I pouted and glanced at my little sister, who chewed on her toes. Groan.

"There isn't much to discuss about this honey. You are taking care of your sister than that is final." My mother kneeled and tapped my nose. "As a reward, I will bake your favorite cookies when I get home!"

"Snicker doodles?" I shyly said and twirled my fingers. My mother embraced me in a hug and laughed.

"Of course!" She then stood up and went to Pinto, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "We will back back soon, my little one."

"C'mon Cecilia, we are gonna miss the performance!" My dad said in excitement, quickly giving my sister and me a kiss on the forehead. He and my mother then proceeded out the door, closing it behind them. I just stood there in silence for a moment. It was really happening. I was stuck with the spawn of Satan. I looked over to my sister and gasped to not see her where I left her.

"Darn, I do not need this right now!" I growled before looking around the area. She couldn't have gone too far. She is a baby after all. I went into the kitchen and looked under the tables and in the cabinets, but she was nowhere to be found. Groaning, I exited the room and proceeded to the living room, only to find the TV on and a few unoccupied sofas. I checked under the pillows and tables, but still, no sign of the runt. I felt a sudden spark go through my body, that feeling where you know something is wrong. It then hit me: my room. I ran down the hall and entered the room on my left, which happened to be my room. Sure enough, there was the demon, chewing on my Joe Chin action figures.

"Pinto stop it!" I ran to her and snatched the toys from her. She looked at me and laughed, waving a pixie sugar stick around. DARN. She must have found my secret stash of candy too! I lunged towards her and tried to grab the candy stick, but to my dismay, I hadn't realized the top was off. Unfortunately, I hit the stick out of her hand and watched it fly above us. It turned upside down in the process and released it's packed sugar right onto our heads and clothes. It then hit the bed in a soft thud. I looked from the empty candy stick to my sister and growled.

"You stupid girl! That was my favorite candy! Why do you have to ruin everything?!" I balled up my fists in anger and glared darts in her direction. Pinto looked at me with a blank stare, before scrunching up her face and crying loudly. Now when she cried, it didn't matter if she had done something or not, I always ended up feeling bad.

I scratched the back of my head and sighed loudly. "Pinto, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that…" I then picked her up and held her close. This made her stop and look at me with those innocent puppy eyes. I looked down at her and gave a weak smile. "Let's get cleaned up ok? Then after that, we can 'Chiko the amigo'. How does that sound?"

The baby smiled wide at me and cooed, leaning her head against my chest. I couldn't help but to smile myself, babies did that to me in general in times like these. Before leaving my room, I picked up some pajamas of mine, before going to Pinto's room next door and doing the same. I then took her into the bathroom and set her on the floor. She just looked around and sat in silence, sucking her thumb. I climbed onto the stool in front of the sink and grabbed some liquid soup for the bath. I then hopped down to the floor and opened up the bottle, pouring the liquid soup into the bath. I then started up the warm water.

"Pinto, bath time." I turned to her and helped her with her clothes. She then climbed into the tub and started splashing the water. This was something she always did. I then proceeded to take my clothes off and hop into the tub as well. I made sure to grab some rubber toys for Pinto to play with while I washed off. I placed some rubber ducks of different colors in the middle of the bath, before turning away from pinto and washing myself with my Joe chin themed rag. Pinto dived towards the ducks and made small duck noises, pretending to be a duck herself.

After a while of washing the sugar from my fur, I made sure to clean Pinto really well so mom and dad wouldn't suspect a thing. She was pretty obedient when it came to me cleaning her, which made the whole process flow more easily. Finishing her wash, I carefully climbed from the tub and grabbed a towel to dry myself with. As a part of my dog instincts, I also shook some water off myself. I then put on my pajamas and grabbed Pinto from the tub, drying her off and helping her with her pajamas. After the two of us were nice and clean, I let the water drain from the tub and grabbed our dirty clothes, putting them in the laundry basket next to the sink. I sighed and turned to my sister, giving her a calm smile.

"Time for Chiko the amigo!" At that statement, Pinto clapped her hands and cooed. I couldn't help but to clap along with her, before picking her up and heading to the living room. I set her on the couch then went to the table to grab the remote, sitting on the couch myself afterwards. Sure enough, Chiko the amigo was on and Pinto glued her eyes to it. Perfect. It was a great opportunity to doze off for a bit. 'Hopefully when I wake up, mom and dad will be home and the cookies will be ready to eat.' I thought with a smile and yawned quietly. Shortly afterward, my eyes felt heavy, and I couldn't hold them up much longer. I just let them shut on their own. The last thing I heard before I drifted into my slumber was Pinto's laugh at the TV.

It had felt like my ears were ringing, but it wasn't them. It was the phone, and it happened to be right next to me. I quickly shot up from my slumber, looking at where I last saw Pinto. Sure enough, she was still there, but she was asleep. She was curled up to herself and sleeping peacefully. I smiled but then heard the phone ring again. It really hurt my ears. I quickly reached to the phone on the table and answered it, still a bit drowsy. "H-Hello…?"

"Parappa." It was my father. From the tone of his voice, he didn't sound too happy. What did I do this time?

"Yes sir?"

"I need you to turn the channel to the news." Doing as I was told, I took the remote and flipped it from Chiko to the news, my eyes widening. Apparently there had been a shooting at the theatre, the one my parents had went to just hours ago. I read the bottom of the screen and saw numbers. What did they mean? I rubbed my eyes and got a better look. I finally realized what they said. Twelve killed and twenty injured.

"Dad? Why are you showing me this?" There was silence on the other side of the line, then faint sobbing could be heard. "Dad? DAD?!"

"…They tried the best they could Parappa….they really did…"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"…Your mother…was amongst the twelve that were killed tonight." More silence, except it was from my end. I just sat there, shaking tremendously. It couldn't be true. She said she would be back and bake me my snicker doodles! I couldn't believe this. Surely I was still dreaming. I quietly set the phone down for a moment and pinched my arm. I winced and pain and noticed the small bruise. This wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. A living nightmare.

"Parappa? Are you alright?" I forgot about the phone and quickly picked it up.

"No."

"Listen, when I get home, we can talk more about this ok?"

"Sure."

"Just sit tight."

"Whatever." And with that, I slammed the phone back in its receiver. I slowly released my grip and pulled my knees close to my chest. What was this feeling? Denial? Anger? Lonliness? How about all of the above. I looked over at my sister, who was still sleeping peacefully. Poor girl, she probably wouldn't really remember mom like dad and I. That thought just made me cringe and form tears in my eyes. Why would this happen to me? Just when I thought things were bad enough, they just had to get worse. I carefully picked up Pinto and put my legs back down, putting her in my lap and holding her close to my chest. I then rocked back and forth and quietly sobbed. Pinto cuddled closer, yawning silently and continuing her slumber.

I eventually cried myself to sleep, Pinto still in my arms. I guess my dad had gotten home shortly after because I remembered hearing faint sobbing that wasn't my own. And sure enough, when I woke up again, I found myself in my bed, Pinto cuddled right beside me. I looked from her to the ceiling and just stared off into space for the remainder of the night.

* * *

For the next few days, our house was silent. I refused to talk to me dad and he felt too troubled to talk to me. Pinto was even more quiet than usual. I found myself caring more and more for her as the days continued to pass by. We also attended my mother's wake and funeral that next week. I saw her and how peaceful she looked. Perhaps, she was in a better place now, smiling down at us.

One thing led to another after that. My dad fell into a depression, I became the care taker of the house, and Pinto cried more than usual. I also found myself disliking my dad more and more. He acted like the world revolved around him. Heck, he acted more immature than Pinto. Now that's saying something. My father also lost his job from missing a good amount of days at work, which meant that we couldn't afford our house. So what did we do? We moved. Packed up our valuables and some furniture and sold the rest for money. Then without letting our neighbors or friends know, we vanished. My father figured no one cared anyway. I just shook my head at the thought.

And thus, brings us back to that _wonderful_ town I mentioned before. Rally Alley. We managed to get a small apartment room in one of the apartment complexes that sat on a street corner. My father was able to afford the rent and got himself a job at the deli shop two blocks down. He thought life was looking up for us, but I still felt weird about the move. I hated the scent of the room, I hated the gloominess of the city and most of all, I hated how every night, a shooting would occur. Life in this city sucked.

One day, after about a month of living in the apartment, my father sent me on a grocery run. "You remember where the convenience store is right?" He asked nervously, putting on his uniform for his job. Yeah, we all shared a room.

"Sure. I just go down the street to the left, then cross the first cross walk and then walk three blocks down." I said while adjusting my hat. My father gave me that stupid unsure smile of his and handed my twenty dollars.

"That should get us milk and a few frozen foods." He patted me on the back and sent me out the door. "Be safe!"

"I'll try…" I mumbled and walked down the hall to the old elevator. Soon afterwards, I found myself on the first floor, and heading out towards the door. I then made my left turn and proceeded to the directions. Walking through this city was both a pain in my rear side as well as a scare to me. There were a lot of homeless people on the side of the street that begged for money. I fell for their tricks when I first moved here, but after I found out they just bought themselves some smokes and beers, I refused to make eye contact with them. There were also people who just looked suspicious and creepy. I would just walk faster when they were in a certain distance from me.

I crossed the street and started to walk the three blocks to the store, stuffing my hands in my pockets with a firm grasp on the money. Oh, I forgot to mention that I always found myself wearing baggy jeans and a loose fitted long sleeve shirt because of how cold it was. Like really, even in the summer time the sun will be out, but the temperature will still be in the low forties.

I eventually found myself in front of the store and sighed loudly before walking up the stairs and entering. It wasn't like one of those nice stores like 'Floormart' with all the different categories of goods and items. It was like a gas station stop. Only had candy, milk, eggs, small frozen meals, drinks and smokes and beers at the front desk. I went down towards the frozen section and grabbed three packs of mini dinners, which contained a chicken strip and two sides of macaroni and broccoli. I then grabbed milk and a small chocolate bar for me and Pinto to share.

"Will that be all sir?" A worn down pig lady said as she rung up the foods. I just nodded and handed her the twenty. I got five dollars back and some change. It was plenty to get some dessert later on if we had time. I grabbed the brown paper bag from the lady and held it from the bottom as I went out the door. I carefully took one step at a time until I reached the bottom, before heading back towards the way I came. I could already tell that carrying these items would be a drag, and I still had three blocks to go. Let's not forget how small I am.

"There's gotta be some type of way to get there faster with no problems" I said to myself as I looked around. Then my eyes spotted something. In the alley next to the store, I could see a shopping cart. It didn't look like it belonged to anybody and the small store only had carrying baskets. I looked from my left to my right then proceeded to the alley with caution, checking my surroundings before entering. I could now see the cart more clearly and I just knew my trip back home would be so much easier, or at least I thought. As I went to put the bag in the cart, I felt something grab my leg. I jumped up in shock, dropping the bag and the items on the cold alley floor. I looked over my shoulder and noticed an old raccoon with a long white beard, grasping onto my leg.

"Whaddya think yer doin with me basket?" His voice sounded like an old wizard. Maybe her was secretly a wizard in disguise or something.

"I…I had no idea it was yours sir…" I said, my voice shaking and my body numb. The old man just gave me a weird stare.

"You know what happens to THEIVES boy?" He let go of my leg and shot up, holding up something in his hands. What was that...? I looked closely then gasped, taking a step back. It was a Taser. What was an old man doing with a TASER?

"N-N-No sir…" I shook where I stood, taking another step back. I had forgotten I dropped my goods on the floor, and accidently tripped on the gallon of milk. "Woah!" I fell backwards on my bottom and quickly looked up at the old man. He had stepped closer to me and let the Taser start up, making an unpleasant clicking noise.

"Well now, I guess I'm gonna have to show ya!" He shouted then charged towards me. I would normally sprint and take off, but I was just too scared to move. All I could do was shut my eyes and prepare for the worst. After a moment, I still found myself sitting in the same position. Or maybe I was dead? No, I would've felt something before then. I peeked one of my eyes open and found the same old against the opposite wall. It had looked like he had passed out. I looked a bit closer and noticed his hands and feet were wrapped around in the surrounded brick from the wall. Wait what? How did that happen?

Another figure jumped up in from of my and looked down at me. I rubbed my eyes and squinted them, trying to get a better glance. From what I could see, it was a girl, a small girl who looked about my size. She was an armadillo with a maroon shell that covered the back of her head. Only two small strips of hair stuck out from each side of her face. She wore this green box-like hat that looked a little too big for her head. She also had light yellow ears that looked like potato chips and a light yellow muzzle along with a long black nose. Her eyes were a menacing lime green; they pierced me directly in my eyes. She had her small arms crossed, wearing some overalls and a long sleeve shirt.

"What are you doing here?" She said in a firm tone. The way she looked seemed like I was a trespasser. I gulped and tried to clear my throat.

"I….well…store…food….walk…." I sighed and tried to speak again. "I wanted to use that shopping cart for my stuff I had bought, but I figured out shortly after that it was that old man's." I pointed to the man. "Speaking of which, how'd he get up there anyway?"

"That is none of your business!" the girl yelled, keeping her arms crossed. Woah, talk about Tsundere. "You have no right to ask questions like that! This is my turf so I will be the only one asking questions around here!" She huffed and looked away. I sweatdropped and scratched my head.

"S-Sorry…I was just curious…"

"What are you, an idiot? Curiosity gets people hurt around here. Especially fresh meat…" She poked my forehead roughly. "Like you."

"Well, I'm sorry. I will leave you alone, if that's what you want." I got up and dusted myself off. I looked around and noticed that the food and milk were spilt and stepped on. Shoot, there goes dinner. I sighed sadly and turned away from the girl. "Now if you will excuse me, I gotta go listen to my dad yell at me about how much of a screw up I am…" I then started to walk towards the entrance of the alley.

"Wait." I paused when I heard that same girl's voice, except a little less firm than before. I turned towards her as she slowly approached me. She then walked up beside me, facing the other way. "Wait right here. If I see you move an inch, I will beat you to a pulp." And with that, the girl dart off in the direction I came from. I didn't know how to feel at that point. Was I supposed to be grateful, or just…scared? None of this made sense. I just shrugged to myself as I wait for this girl for who knows what.

After what seemed like forever, I perked up when I noticed the same girl, walking in my direction with a few bags in hand. She approached me and without saying a word, she handed them to me.

"What is this?" I asked a bit shocked.

"Just open the dumb bags, baka." She said impatiently. I did as I was told and looked inside the first bag. It was a gallon of milk. Huh, that's fortunate. I wanted to look back up at her but I could still feel her eyes piecing the crown of my head, so I just decided to look in the other bag. I was a bit shocked. It wasn't just food, it was hot food. Its aroma seeped into my nostrils. With a small smile, I slowly opened up the lid and found several pieces of fried chicken.

"Wow! I haven't had chicken in a long time! Not since I moved here!" I said joyfully and looked up at the girl, who was looking away with her arms crossed. I wanted to thank her. After all, she didn't have to buy this stuff for me! I put the bags down and stuck out one of my hands.

"I'm Parappa!" I smiled and looked at her. She just stared at my hand for a while. Was I being too generous to her? I didn't know what else to do though. What could I do besides introduce myself and say thanks? Yell? No way, even if the girl was a bit moody. I was caught off guard when I felt a soft hand grab mine in a firm grasp. I looked and noticed that the girl had accepted the handshake.

"Melody, the one and only" She smiled for the first time since we met. I was able to look at her face closer. Those lime green eyes appeared more calm and shiny and her light yellow muzzle contained several darker yellow freckles. It looked…cute. Very cute. We let go of each other's hands and smiled.

"Thank you for this. Truly. My family and I are in a tough spot right now so food is always scarce." I scratched the back of my head.

"I understand. My mom and I have been like that ever since my dad left us." She nodded and explained.

"I see…" I kicked a rocked and looked at the floor. She did the same. "So…How did you manage to buy the food?" Apparently I must've been a comedian to this girl, because she just stared at me and laughed out loud.

"Buy? I never said I _bought_ anything…" She grinned. "I am a professional shop lifter. Been doing it for almost a year now" Normally I would be quick to judge and scold, like my mother used to do, but I actually laughed along with her.

"Wow really? I guess that's how it is around here!" I nodded to her. She smiled and picked up one of my bags.

"I'll teach ya one day. Anyway, let's get you back to your place before more crazies come out." She turned away and started to walk. I picked up my bag and followed behind her then realized something.

"What about the old man?"

"What about him?"

"Aren't you gonna let him go or something?"

"Do I have to?" I just stared at her, making her groan. "Fine" She set down the bag and turned back to the man. She didn't move from her spot though. All she did was raise one of her hands and snapped. At that moment, the wrapped rocks around the old man's feet and hands, went back into the wall, causing him to fall on his face.

"Nnngh….curses…" The old man groaned before passing out on the floor. Melody looked from him to me and laughed again. It was nice to hear. It was like I met two different Melodies in one day.

"Let's go."

"Right behind ya!" I smiled and ran up next to her, walking beside her and laughing along with her.

* * *

The walk took a little bit longer than it normal did. Melody wanted to get something from the bakery so we spent some time in there, then we went to the arcade that was two buildings away from my apartment. After all of that, we finally managed to arrive at the entrance of my apartment. I turned to look at her.

"Would you like to come in? We surely can't eat all of this chicken ourselves."

"Naw, It's your meal. You all deserve it. After all, I can just 'buy' some more. WINK WINK." She laughed handed me the other bag.

"Well, then I guess…I will see you soon?" I asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah! I'm just a block away dummy. Besides, school starts up in a few weeks, so maybe I can see you then."

"Ah….I think my dad is going to homeschool me."

"O-Oh…bummer." The girl's ears drooped to the sides of her face. We both looked at the ground again in silence. I then cleared my throat.

"But hey, that doesn't mean I can't hang out with you! Just let me know the times of school then we can work something out with our schedules!"

"Well ok. We will see how that works out" She nodded towards me before turning the other way. "Seeya later, Parappa."

"Seeya Melody!" I waved with a smile and watched her walk across the street and down the block. Once she turned a corner, I went inside the apartment. I arrived at the front door after a very slow elevator ride and knocked. My dad immediately flung the door open and embraced me in a big hug.

"Oh Parappa champ! I was so worried about you! You have been gone the whole day! What happened? You alright?" I just nodded and handed him the bags. He took them and looked inside each. "Wow! Twenty dollars can get you this? I should send you on grocery runs more often!"

I rolled my eyes and went to find Pinto. For once in a while, we all sat down at our table and had a nice quality meal. Things seemed to be looking up for us.

* * *

Melody and I eventually got a schedule arranged and we managed to hang out after 3:00pm everyday. Weekends we would hang out all day. This continued on throughout several years. We grew closer to each other, she taught me some tips on living in the city, and I found myself forming quite the crush on her. Each day was a mystery to her, and she was willing to do everything in her power to solve it and do anything and everything before dusk. I admired that about her. She truly lived her life to the fullest.

Time passed and the amount of times we got to see each other got numbered. From every day of the week to three times a week, we still managed to find time for each other. However, once Melody entered Middle School, things got complicated. Her mother lost her job and Melody got in trouble in school on a regular. So her mother and the girl moved to another city. I was able to hang out with her the day before she left. We were both eleven years old at the time, about to start off our second semester for sixth grade. I was still home schooled and she was moving to a private school.

"Do you really have to go?" I asked while holding my ice cream. I had taken her to the ice cream parlor, since well…it was one of her favorite places to go. We sat on one of the benches next to parlor and looked at each other.

"Looks like it." She sighed and licked her ice cream. She didn't seem to mind too much about the situation. Or, she was just hiding her emotions well. "We will see each other again. One day" She looked back to me and gave me a cocky grin.

"I hope…" I sighed and licked my ice cream. We sat for a few minutes in a comfortable silence. The day was beautiful and for the first time is many years, it was actually warm out. A comfortable high seventy if I remember right. I wore some tan knee shorts and a light blue tee shirt, while Melody wore overall shorts that went just below her knee with a dark green tea shirt underneath. Let's not forget that favorite green box-like hat of hers. I liked it. It suited her nicely.

"Gah, I think I should head home. Mum can't wait for this move and I don't want her to get impatient with me." Melody said as she stood up and finished off her ice cream. I stood up and finished the rest of my cone as well, sighing sadly.

"Do you…want me to walk you home?"

"If you want to…are you willing to walk back to your house alone? It's usually the other way around" She fiddled with her fingers. I smiled and took one of her hands.

"I wouldn't mind it one bit." I held her hand tight. She looked at me and quickly looked away, before holding my hand tighter as well. We then proceeded to walk in the direction of her home.

During the walk, we were silent. We would just swing our hands back and forth and avoid the cracks on the sidewalk. Other parts of the walk included detours through the alleys, since she wanted to spend a little bit of extra time with me. Alas, things came to an end when we arrived at her door. She turned to me and slowly let go of my hand.

"Well, this is it."

"Yeah, it sure is…"

"You'll come and visit me, right?"

"If you give me an address."

"I will make sure to, and if you don't come, I will find you and beat you into the next century!" She balled her fist and held it to my face. I just laughed.

"Cute."

"D-Don't say that…"

"But, it's true."

"What are you implying?" She looked straight at me. I didn't know what to say at that point. I was just speaking out of heart and those words just slipped out. I wanted to hide and pretend I didn't say anything. But instead, I came up with something stupid.

"That you are a one of a kind friend."

"Oh." We both stood in silence. I didn't want it to end like this. I would regret it for the rest of my life. So in an awkward manner, I held her shoulders and brought her close for a hug. At first she was shocked, but I guess she wanted to hug me as well, for I felt her arms wrap around my back. I then felt something warm on my stomach. It was damp. Was that…tears? I looked down and saw the armadillo looking up at me, cheek against my chest and eyes welled up with tears. This made me hold her close and rub the back.

"Mel…"

"What if…we never see each other again? I…I don't know what I'd do…" She sobbed and buried her head in my chest. I hadn't seen her like this before…she normally fought off her feelings. I guess I was another exception.

"We will, I promise. One day Melody, we will be together just like this. Maybe it'll be a year from now or ten years from now, but I assure you, it will come to pass." I continued to comfort her and hold her close. She pulled away from me a little, still holding onto me and looked into my eyes.

"Promise me…that you will never forget me."

"I promise Mel…I promise."

"Really? Do you mean it?"

I put my forehead on hers and smiled softly at her. "Yes, I mean every word." We gave each other one more hug before she finally took off and went into her house. I hid around the corner and watched her mom and her drive off, leaving the empty house behind. It then finally hit me that I would be walking home alone tonight. My best friend, my only friend, was gone.

.

.

.

.

_Or so I thought._

* * *

**WOAH THIS IS THE LONGEST THING I HAVE EVER WRITTEN. Well that wraps up the first chapter! I think I will make all the chapters if not this long a little shorter, about 4,000ish words. There's a lot of development that needs to occur after all! Anyway, tell me what you think! c':**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for both the review on here and the feedback I got from friends! I really appreciate it and am glad people are beginning to read this! Just a reminder that all characters belong to their respectful owners. I think people will tell who is an OC. Melody is one ahaha c: Well, here comes the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ah, School. Something I really didn't enjoy, until the second semester of seventh grade, where my dad finally allowed me to attend a public school. He had held onto me for so long, so the decision was difficult, but in the end we came to a compromise: For the first time in years. Pinto was also being transferred from home school to public school, entering elementary school. She would be a third grader.

The day was nice and cool, cool enough to bundle up that is. It was January and the Christmas break was over. It was time for students to show off their new looks and start their grades over from scratch.

I stood in front of the School, holding Pinto's hand. Rally Alley Elementary and Rally Alley Junior High. We were both nervous. Public school was a big step for us, after all the years of being cooped in that apartment room. I turned to her and gave a nervous smile.

"At least our schools are combined. It won't be as nerve wrecking as it could be." I gave her hand a tight squeeze. She pouted and gave me her puppy eyed look.

"What if they don't like me?"

"Pinto, don't think like that! I'm sure they will enjoy your company!" I gave her a thumbs up before looking at the building again. I then let out a deep sigh. "Well, this is it." We both gave each other a weak smile and proceeded through the school doors.

As we walked inside, many students ran around, scurrying to their classes and looking for their old friends. It was really diverse. Many different types of species could be seen; cats, dogs, birds, rodents, you name it. This made me smile.

"Brother, you can let go of my hand." I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down at Pinto, who was staring at our hands. She obviously wanted to mingle.

"Oh sorry! Eheheh.." I smiled and let go of her hand. "Do you know where to go?"

"The hallways are labeled, brother." She said and pointed to the labels above the many different halls both upstairs and on our current floor. "See the Elementary hallway? I think that's where I go."

"Ah…yeah! Well then, I hope you have fun." I bent down and gave her a hug.

"AH BROTHER STOP!" She pushed me away laughing, taking off towards the Elementary hall. She then stopped and turned around, waving one last time. "Good bye Brother!"

"Seeya" I said with a small wave, watching her disappear. I looked around and spotted the Middle school hall. "Ah, I take it that's where I am supposed to go." Followed the label and went inside. From the looks of it, the hall had different classrooms for different grade levels. I think two classes per grade? I guess all of the other rooms, like the gym and cafeteria, were located in a different area. I arrived in front of two separate doors, both labeled 'Welcome Back Seventh Graders'.

"I guess I'm supposed to just choose one. But which one? Hmm….enie, meanie, minny-THAT ONE." I pointed to the door on the left. I took a deep breath and opened it up, stunned at the amount of kids running around and sitting. It looked like a good thirty or so kids. "Wow…" I smiled, but got pushed by some more incoming students. School must be their sanctuary.

"Ayo, pop a squat." I heard a deeper voice say. I looked up from the floor and noticed a black and white cat, wearing a weird yellow tie. Surprisingly, all the kids obeyed and found themselves a seat, well, besides me of course. I just lied on the floor like an idiot. What a great way to start off my public school experience. "Need help kid?" I noticed the teacher speaking to me, but he was right in front of me.

"Uh...if it isn't too much trouble…" I said a bit quietly so only he could hear. The other students looked at me, and I could've sworn I heard some giggles and snorts.

"Sure thing kiddo" The teacher said as he held out his hand. Feeling stupid, I reached for it and allowed him to help me up. I dusted myself off and scratched the back of my head.

"Th-Thanks teach…"

"You must be new here" He smirked then looked around. "I would introduce you, but the class has a problem keeping their focus, so you can just take a seat behind that young lady over there and talk while I get the roll sheet together."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you…uh Mr…?"

"Felix, Felix the cat." He grinned and headed towards his desk. Great, now I had to deal with the stares of people. They were like a bunch of judges looking at a convict. Looking in the direction where Felix pointed, I quickly made my way towards the empty seat. Good thing it was closer to the back.

I sat down carefully, and set my bag under the seat. The other kids then began to talk amongst themselves. '_They all look so close. Hopefully, I will be able to make friends here.'_

"Hey, Hello, Hi!" a voice called out. Were they talking to me? "Mister!" Surely they weren't. I just sat down. "Yo!" My question got answered as I turned to my left, seeing a boy wave at me with a smile. Strange, he wasn't an animal…he was…human. They are rare nowadays.

"Umm, hi?"

"Are you new here?" the boy asked and scooted his desk a bit closer to mine. Well, someone was friendly.

"Yeah I am."

"Cool! We don't get too many new kids around here!" He held out his hand. "I'm Astro!" He smiled wide. This kid…

"Oh, I'm Parappa" I shook his hand and smiled a bit myself. From what I could see, nobody had been talking to Astro or at least trying to. Maybe, they treated him different. "How long have you been here?"

"Too long" Astro mumbled and let go of my hand. "It's always the same here. When I saw you walk in though, I just knew that things would be more interesting!" He beamed and turned back to his own desk. What did he mean by all of that? I thought school was the best thing in the world! Huh, guess some people thought differently than others.

"Do you know any cool kids here?" I asked, trying to change up the topics.

"Hmm? Well sure, I know everybody here. They aren't like, close to me or anything though." He waved his finger like he was lecturing me. "We have a thing here at Rally Junior High, y'see. Groups, Cliques, all that jazz."

"Clique? What's a clique?" I asked curiously.

"A group of people who share the same interests! You have the jocks, the goths, the arties, the band geeks, the environmental musketeers, the animal lovers, and then…the losers. You and me…we are in the losers group, unfortunately."

"I am already in a group? Wow, talk about stereotyping." I huffed and folded my arms.

"Don't take it so hard Parappa, now I know I am not alone! We can be losers together!"

"Groaaaan"

We chatted a bit more about the groups, as well as ourselves before Felix finally got the roll ready and passed out a sheet for everyone to write their name on. When the list came to me, I took the time to view some other names. '_Weird names. Flapjack? Klonoa? Mac? What kinds of people were these?' _ I quickly signed my name and passed it over to Astro.

"Alright guys, as you all know this is your homeroom. After every rotation, come back here if you need to get something from lockers." He looked at his watch. "Looks like it's time for you all to head over to the gym" Right after he said the word 'gym' the whole class shot up from their seats and ran out the door. "O…kay…"

I looked over to Astro, who had started to get up from his seat. Surely he wasn't going to leave me here by myself. "Hey, Astro? Can I…hang out with you for the day? I am honestly lost right now…"

"Wh-What?" He turned to me as if I had just offered him ten million dollars. "R-Really? Of course Parappa! That would make me very happy!" He smiled wide and gave me a thumbs up. I just smiled back casually and stood from my desk, following him out of the door. I could've sworn I heard Felix snickering, but I decided to shrug it off.

* * *

As we entered the gym, my sensitive nose immediately scrunched up in disgust. It smelt like B.O. plus gym socks. A very bad combination. Astro just stood next to me as if the smell was nothing. '_Guess he is used to it…'_

"AIGHT, EVERYBODY LINE UP!" an aggressive voice called out. All the students in the gym sprinted from wherever they were, whether it was the bleachers or the court, and lined up. Astro and I just stood at the end, both of us trembling in fear. Big foot steps could be heard, and they made the gym shake a big. Some of the smaller students would occasionally pop off the floor from the monstrous steps. I peeked down from where I stood and got a better look at our host for the hour. He was a huge dark skinned human with an army suit on. He was also bald, so the light from the gym reflected from his scalp. As he got closer, I quickly pulled my head up, and straightened my stance.

He just looked at us, mocking us with those chilly brown eyes of his. He would occasionally stop in front of a student and look at them, before walking ahead. I guess he did that for both the scaring as well as the fun of seeing little kids faint?

"YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS….IT'S GO TIME." He stopped in front of me. I could've lost all liquids in my body at that moment, but I didn't. "BUT….IT'S ONLY THE FIRST DAY BACK AND SOME OF Y'ALL PROBABLY FORGOT YOUR GYM CLOTHES OR DON'T HAVE ANY." He looked at me. "YOU NEED ONE, SON?" I quickly nodded my head, feeling like my brain was rattling inside.

The kids around me snickered and gossiped after the coach turned around and walked back in the other direction. This was the worst day ever.

"HERE'S WHAT IMMA ALLOW Y'ALL TO DO TODAY. WHILE SOME OF THE NEWBIES GET THEIR UNIFORMS, EVERYONE ELSE CAN PLAY AROUND FOR THE HOUR…BUT ONLY TODAY. TOMORROW, THE REAL WORK BEGINS…" Everyone gulped and nodded, saluting the teacher.

"SIR YESSIR!"

"NOW GO PLAY DAG NABBIT!" He shouted and pointed to the rest of the gym. The students cheered and ran back to their stations. I just stood there in silence, trying to process everything. Astro looked at me before tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh…yeah. I'm fine. Just gotta…get…clothes…yeah" I turned away from him and walked towards the teacher, each step becoming heavier and heavier. I seriously thought he would chew me up and spit out my bones, the way he talked to the students. But let's be honest, that wouldn't happen even if I wanted it to. As I approached the teacher, he looked up and me and gave a kind smile. Woah there, a smile?

"H-Hello sir, I need a uniform." I shook and kept my guard up, just in case he decided to yell again.

"No sweat lil man. Hey, don't be nervous. That's just a thing I do to let the students know I mean business." He handed me my uniform. "You know, I have seen someone who looked similar to you at that deli shop…"

"Th-That's my dad."

"Ah shoot, really? Man, he knows how to hook a brotha up. I always come in for fresh salami and never charges me a dime. He just thanks me for serving in the military." Woah. That sounded a bit too generous to be my dad. All he did was think about himself. I guess, the shop created a sort of vibe that made him think of others. Welp, looks like I will need to pay him a few visits.

"That's awfully nice of him." I forced a smile and clutched my uniform.

"That's what I'm sayin! Oh, about your uniform, just put it in your locker in your homeroom class when this hour gets released. You will definitely need it for tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you sir." I gave a small nod and ran back to Astro, who had been staring at us the whole time.

"Woah, what just happened? I have never seen him so calm before…especially to newbies…" he said in a loud whisper. How does that even work?

"He said it was just something he did to let the students know he's serious. He apparently knows my father as well…so maybe that might be another reason?"

"Who knows? But either way, you just placed yourself in a good spot with him. The only other student he is fond of is Sonic the hedgehog." The boy pointed to a blue hedgehog, who was zipping around from station to station, wearing some hi-top chucks. He sure was fast.

"How does he move so fast?" I asked as we kept looking at him. Astro shrugged.

"Nobody knows. All we know is that he is the most popular kid in school and can do any sport."

"Woah…" We just stared at the boy zip around effortlessly. I guess we had talked about him for the whole time, because before we knew it, the bell rang.

"Y'ALL BETTA COME PREPARED TOMORROW!" the teacher yelled as the students ran out of the gym. Astro and I followed, jogging a bit ourselves to keep up.

"Where to now?" I asked as we turned a corner and headed towards the direction of our hall.

"We go back to homeroom to get our lunch and have our lunch hour. That's probably the best part of the day, because after that, we begin class sessions." He groaned as we entered the homeroom. We both went to our desks and grabbed our lunches. All the other students did the same, some gathering money for the hot lunch, and then proceeded back out the door. Some of the students remained in the homeroom.

"Where do we go?" I looked around then looked back to him.

"Anywhere in the school! This is the time where all grade levels can mingle." He smiled brightly. Guess he might've had a sibling or something as well. I then thought about Pinto. Hopefully she wasn't having a cruddy day like me. "Come on! I'll show you where I usually go!" He grabbed my hand without a warning and sprinted out of the class room. I hadn't realized how powerful the boy was, since I was literally swinging from his arm, not touching the floor.

"ACK! Where are we going?" I shouted. He then stopped in front of an empty hallway that didn't have many lights on. Letting go of my hand, he slowly proceeded down the hall. I just stood there, scratching my head. "Astro, why are we even over here? It looked like this hall is disserted."

"No no! It isn't I promise! I just…have a little friend who I talk to. He doesn't really like to interact with others, so he comes back here." I just stood there. Was he kidding? It almost sounded like he was referring to an imaginary friend.

"I thought you didn't have any friends here…"

"Not in our grade." He looked back to me with a kind smile. "They don't understand me….they don't understand _us."_ He stopped in front of a dark spot where the lights weren't hitting. He then reached out his hand towards it. What the heck was he trying to do? Communicate with the darkness? "Come on out, it's me, Astro!"

"A-Astro…."

My ears perked up. I heard a sort of small, squeaky voice. It sounded frightened. Was it, a ghost?

"Yeah that's right! I brought another friend along too! His name is Parappa and he is like us." He said calmly. What did he mean? Was he referring to the fact that we were labeled losers? If so, I did NOT ask to be introduced that way.

"P…a…rap…pa…."

That voice again. It was really starting to make my body shiver. I looked to Astro who still had that smile on his face.

"Wh-What is going on…I want to know what you have brought me to…" I took a step back, panting a bit.

"Parappa, it's ok! He isn't a ghost or anything like that; he is like you and me…"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?" I shouted and took another step back. I then froze when I felt a chill on my back. It felt like a hand; a really tiny hand. I shut my eyes and clenched my fists.

"It looks like, he feels the same way." Astro said as made his way towards me. I kept my eyes closed and shook in place. I was scared. I had no idea why, but I felt like something bad was going to happen.

"IwanttogohomeIwanttogohomeIwanttogohome…"

"Parappa? It's alright."

"N-No…I made the mistake of coming here….I just wanna go home…"

"Parappa, please try to calm down."

"How are you going to tell me what to do? You are not my mother…" I clenched my fists tighter and fell to my knees. That tiny hand that was previously on my back was now resting on my shoulder. I didn't care anymore. First I get humiliated in front of the class, and then I get labeled as a loser and now this witch craft? I wanted to come to school tom make friends and get a great education, not become a laughing stalk and hang around weirdoes.

"I'm…sorry…I didn't mean it like that…" Astro bit his lip and bent down in front of me.

"He doesn't have a mother." I heard a monotone voice say next to me. Could it have been related to the tiny hand on my shoulder? And another thing…how did it know about…my mom?

"So he is like us after all…" Astro said this quietly and looked back at me. I kept my fists clenched but I slowly opened my eyes. Astro weakly smiled at me. "Parappa, this is Abdiel." He pointed to something right next to me. I finally swallowed my fear and looked over to my side, noticing a small dalmation. He had long grey ears that barely touched the floor and grey freckles on his cheeks. He also had some spots on his legs, and I assumed he also had some on his arms…well…arm. But they were covered up with long sleeves. Arm…he only had one full arm. The other one ended where his elbow would be and was wrapped up in bandages. He kept that sleeve pinned up. He also wore some high baggy socks with some grey chucks.

The main thing I saw as I examined this boy was his brown beret, it looked a bit too big for his head, but it looked cute in a sort of puppy dog way. The little boy looked down at me with his blue and green eyes. They seemed…empty.

"You miss her, don't you?" He stared.

"Who…?"

"Your mother. She was involved in that theatre shooting seven years ago." How did he know that? I hadn't said a thing to anyone. The only person I told was Melody.

"How did you know that?" I asked suspiciously. He looked from me to my shadow, then back to me.

"It told me. It told me everything." He pointed to it. I gasped. Was this some type of sorcery?

"You…You're serious…"

"Yes. Out of all the shadows I have talked to, yours seem to share some more hurtful memories."

I couldn't help but to just stare at him. He had this creepy vibe to him that made me feel uncomfortable. Astro sat on his bottom and pulled out his lunch.

"Man, I am starving! Abby? I brought you some sandwiches!" How could that boy be so positive in a time like this? I was literally in shock and he was smiling and waving those stupid sandwiches around.

"Ooo, goodie!" Wait. What? I looked at my side again and noticed the Dalmatian not standing there anymore. He was right next to Astro, smiling and munching on his lunch.

"Hope you like bacon and cheese!"

"WAIT A SECOND, WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?" I shouted, causing both of them to look at me. They just laughed. I felt utterly humiliated. None of this crap made sense anymore.

"Abdiel does that a lot. Forgive him. He is really as sweet as can be! What he did say was true though, he communicates with other shadows. That is kind of how he bonds with others."

"Did he have to pull out the most hurtful memories though? Really, I felt like this was going to turn into some weird emotional anime." I groaned and glared at Abby, who was munching on his sandwich. He looked up at me and smiled shyly.

"Well, that's not the only thing I heard about, that one just seemed to be the one your shadows screamed the loudest." He lowered his heard. "I'm sorry about the loss though. If it helps you any, Astro doesn't have a mom as well and I never knew who my parents were."

"But look at us now!" Astro put an arm around Abdiel and smiled. "As long as we are here for each other, we got all the family we need!"

I couldn't help but to smile at that statement. If they hadn't told me about their families, I would've assumed they had it good back at home. But they were more like me. We all chatted and eventually headed back to our classes, Abby heading towards the sixth grade hallway. Astro and I waved at him before entering our own class. We were blocked off by a group of students who seemed to be crowding around something.

"What's going on?" I said to Astro, who just shrugged.

"Beats me"

We made our way around and tried to get a better look at what the students were so intrigued by. It took some weaving and some shoving to get a clear view. We both noticed two people in the middle: a girl and a boy. They both seemed to be chugging something, it looked like soda. From the looks of it, the girl was winning by a land slide.

"Chug Chug Chug!" Students roared and screamed in excitement. I looked over to Astro and gave him a puzzled look.

"What are they doing?"

"Oh. It looks like they are having some sort of chugging contest…"

"Yeah, but why?"

"Who knows? Maybe to prove something." Astro looked to the two kids then snapped his fingers. "Ah!" I cocked a brow.

"What is it?"

"That girl happens to be the toughest in our grade. She is also cliqueless, since she can easily fit into any of them if she wanted. People fear her and respect her at the same time. She is also kind of new here. Moved here when seventh grade first started."

"Interesting. Do you ever talk to her?"

"Naw. I would rather save myself a trip to the nurses' office. I do know her name though, as does everyone else around here."

"I see. Wait a minute…" I paused then turned my whole body towards Astro. "Why wasn't she here this morning?" This made the other laugh.

"She plays hooky a lot. Guess she got bored and decided to come today." He smiled then looked back to the two kids. "Looks like she won that contest." He pointed. I turned around and saw the girl grinning. It looked…familiar. The girl then gave the boy a handshake before looking around at the rest of the crowding kids.

"Anyone else?" She asked with complete confidence. Everyone just shook their heads with nervous smiles. She laughed then looked straight at me. I froze for a moment as her lime green eyes met mine. Her smile turned into a frown and her stare grew colder. All the kids looked from her to me and back away, leaving a space where I stood. I looked around and whimpered, pulling my hat over my eyes to hide myself from anymore embarrassment.

"She's looking at him."

"What if she kills him?"

"He hasn't even suffered through class yet."

All the whispers of the surrounding students made me feel trapped and isolated. I had no idea what was going to happen next.

"Psst. Baka."

Astro? No, his voice was more annoying than this one.

"Why are you covering your eyes? Man, you have become such a chicken." What? How dare she just assume things! I quickly uncovered my eyes and shot a glare back at her.

"You have no right to say that! You…" I stopped myself when I finally got a smack of reality. That girl wasn't new to me. In fact, she was far from it. My eyes softened and I couldn't help but to grow a big grin on my face.

"Wh-Why are you smiling like that?" The girl looked at me, just like she used to back when we were smaller.

"Who knew, our paths would cross again, Melody." Everyone was glued to our conversation and some of the girls were even fangirling over it. It was a bit annoying and made this whole reunion seem awkward.

"Alright, let's pop a squat!" Felix came in from the door and noticed Melody. "Ah, so I see you actually came to join us today."

She stuck her tongue out at him then ran to the other side of the room. Everyone else dispersed to their seats, me and Astro included. I slowly slouched in my chair and glanced over at Melody, who was looking out the window. '_You and I are definitely talking after class.'_

* * *

After suffering through several classes, the final bell of the day rang and everyone dashed out of the school in a flash. I gathered my things and put my backpack over my shoulders.

"Hey Parappa, where do you live?" Astro called out from the door.

"In that giant apartment in the middle of town. How about you?" I went down the steps and made my way towards him.

"Umm in an apartment off Dixie lane. I think it is close to that apartment you stay in. Me and Abdiel can walk with you!" He smiled and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Did someone call me?" Abby peeked his head through the door.

"I did! We are gonna walk home with Parappa!"

"Oh boy! Does he live close to the orphanage?"

I looked at the Dalmatian. Poor kid, he had to deal with all sorts of children.

"Yeah I think so. We will see when we walk there." Astro said and looked at both of us. "Welp, let's get going!"

"Wait! I need to get my sister. She can't walk home by herself." I mentioned as we walked out the door.

"Oh same with me. My sister wouldn't know what to do." Astro smacked his face and let it drop slowly.

"Aww, your sister is sweet though Astro…" Abdiel smiled and giggled.

"Pfft. She is the biggest brat I know."

"Huh, her and my sister might get along. My sister can be annoying at times too." I chuckled. We proceeded to where the entrance of the elementary school hall was. Sure enough, I saw a few children waiting: Pinto was amongst them.

"Big brother!" She called out and ran to me, giving me a big hug. That alone made me feel better.

"Hey Pinto. How was school? I see you made some friends." I gestured over to the other kids.

"Oh yeah! School was great! And these are my friends," She let go of me and pointed to each of them. "Zoron, Rocky and Ray!"

The three children she pointed too were just about as small as her, if not, a little taller. Zoron looked exactly like Astro, except her hair was shaped differently and she wore different clothes, Rocky was a grey squirrel who wore a blue flight hat with goggles, and Ray was a yellow squirrel who also wore some blue goggles along with a blue scarf. For some reason, he just stared at me.

"Looks like it's a small world! Rocket and Ray happen to stay at the same orphanage as Abdiel, and Zoron…well….she is my sister." Astro smiled and sighed.

Rocket went over to Abby and gave him a hug. "Are we all walking home together Abby?"

"Looks like it! It'll be fun!" the Dalmatian giggled and held the squirrel close. "Ray? Are you ok?"

I looked back at the other squirrel when Abdiel called out to him. He didn't budge. He just…kept on staring at me. His light blue eyes appeared dull, almost as if he was spacing out or something.

"Ray?" Rocky put a hand on the squirrel's shoulder. "You ok?"

"Hmm?" He finally stopped staring at me and smiled weakly at his friend. "Y-Yes. I am ok. Just…thinking."

"Well, if that's all settled, let's all go home!" Astro stood in front of us all and put his fist in the air.

"Not so fast." A familiar voice called from behind us. We all turned around and saw Melody leaning against a locker.

"M-Melody!" I called and took a step towards her. "We have a lot to discuss."

"Agreed, I do need to fill you in on some things." She walked towards me and put her hands in her pockets.

"What do you mean?" I asked then looked around. Everyone, besides my sister and Astro's sister, started to either scratch their head or look directly towards me.

"Have you noticed that each of us in this room share similar scenarios?" Melody asked in a serious tone. I gulped and nodded my head.

"Y-Yeah…but what does that have to do with"

"Something brought us all together. Call it fate if you'd like, but there is a purpose for all of us. When I transferred back to this town last semester, I felt more out of place than when I left? You know why? Because all the people who can't really afford much are being reduced. Either they run off to another city or stay in the shadows." She looked at all of us. "They are trying to transform this city from a dump to a Richie's hot spot."

"Wait just a minute." I said and looked around at everyone. "Is this some type of joke?"

They all looked at each other then back to me.

"I'll….take that as a no." I crossed my arms.

"They are trying to make us move out of here, but we won't go down without a fight. Who cares if a bunch of poor kids live in the streets?" Melody walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "We need to make a team. Believe it or not, majority of the kids that go here are the children of those Richies."

"So…what do you want me to do?" I asked firmly.

"Join us!" Astro said and came up behind me.

"Wait a sec…YOU WERE IN ON THIS?"

"Well, of course! It's not like I could say anything about it though. I did throw out hints." He laughed. Abdiel came up to me from the other side.

"Melody has told us a lot about you, and I got some of the final pieces from you today, and we thought you would be great as our leader!"

"Leader…this sounds more like a gang than anything…" I sighed and looked at both of them.

"Naw, we are really subtle about it all. Melody suggested that we make a club in the school, and get people like us to join! The more people we get the more support we have!" Abby cheered loudly.

"But what exactly would we do in this club? Rally against the richies?"

"No no…evenifthatsoundsgood. Maybe in the future when they are on to us. But as of right now, we can do fundraisers and community service, showing them that we are an import piece to this city!" Melody raised her fist in triumph. Everyone did the same around her. I just sighed and scratched my head.

"I dunno…this seems so sudden. Besides, what would our group be called? 'We hate Richies?'"

"No way! We need something that sounds both like us and describes who we are…" Astro jumped in front and put a hand under his chin. "But…what…?"

"They do consider us misfits in the school…" Rocky pointed out, sounding a bit bummed his point.

"Misfits…Aha! I got!" Melody hit her fist on her other hand. "It's genius! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"Think of…what?" We all said and cocked our heads to the side.

"HELLO? We are totally urban kids, ever notice that? And we are a big bunch of misfits!"

"Yeah, thanks for pointing that out…" Ray said monotone.

"What are you getting at, Melody?" I walked up to her and put my hands on my hips.

"We are…'The Urban Misfits'!" Melody shouted and looked around. Everyone looked at her and smiled wide. They then looked back to me.

"What do you think Parappa?" Rocky asked.

"Do you like it?" Astro pulled on one of my ears.

"Yeah! Do ya?" Abdiel pulled on the other ear.

"Do you?" Ray stood in front of me and smiled shyly. I couldn't take this pressure. Not one bit.

"CUT IT OUT! I need space!" I shouted and glared at everyone. They kept their smiles and took one giant step back from me. I then turned to Melody and pinched between my eyes, groaning.

"Sure. Whatever."

"Then it's settled!" Melody smiled and looked at each of us. "Parappa, Ray, Rocky, Astro and Abdiel. We are now 'The Urban Misfits'!"

"What about us?" Pinto called out from the entrance.

"Yeah can we join too?" Zoron asked impatiently. Both me and Astro looked at them and hissed.

"NO YOU CAN'T! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS AND YOU'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH!"

"B-But Ray and Rocky are the same age as us…" Both girl whimpered.

"THEY ARE DIFFERENT!"

"Huff, fine! Zoron? We can make our own group!" Pinto stuck her nose in the air.

"Yeah! And none of you can be in it!" Zoron pointed to all of us. The two of them made their way out of the door and walked ahead, occasionally glaring back in our direction. The group just looked at each other then laughed.

"Come on y'all," Melody said as put and arm around my neck. "Let's get some rest."

We all exited the school and made our way down the street. I still had no idea what was going on at the time, but for once in a long time, I felt like I was in good hands. Sure there were a lot of ice breakers to be done between everyone, but I didn't have a doubt in my mind that we would flow well as a club, as a team, and as great friends.

* * *

**Finally, another chapter done, and a bunch of characters were introduced! Now that the group is together, many adventures can take place! Please tell me what you guys think! c':**


	3. Chapter 3

**Man o' Man! I love me some feedback! Special thanks to krikanalo for both the consistent reviews as well as the follow. It means so much to me and gives me inspiration to follow through with the story! Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respectful owners. Abdiel and Melody belong to me. Oh and the gym teacher guy. HAHA well enjoy the third dynamic chapter!**

* * *

**"RIIIING!"**

My eyes flew open and glared at the old manual clock. Why we still had one? They were cheaper than digital ones. I noticed the time: 7:10 a.m. Looks like we would have some extra time to walk today. I reached over and hit the button, before sitting up in my bed, silently yawning. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, noticing my dad already gone for work, and Pinto up and about. She skipped around and got dressed happily, humming while doing so. Where does she get her energy from? Pixies?

I climbed off my comfy sanctuary and got ready, taking care of my hygiene and clothes. I was also in charge of packing our lunches every day. So I just decided to do the usual: Ham and cheese sandwiches with a side of chips, applesauce and apple juice. Pinto loved any type of food you threw at her so it's not like she would complain or anything. I placed the food and drinks in brown bags, rolling them up and writing our names on them with sharpie.

"Pinto, come get your lunch. It's time to go." I said as I turned around and held both lunches in hand. She came sprinting and grabbed hers in an athletic sort of jump. It reminded me of that one human guy from the fiction novels who played basketball. What was his name? Oh that's right: Jordan Michaels.

"Are you ready for the second day of school big brother? I know I am!" Pinto skipped around and reached the front door. I sighed and followed her along, turning the knob.

"Sure. So excited."

We went on the elevator and rode it down to the lobby, seeing a few people looking around and proceeding with their daily lives. Pinto and I scooted pass them and found the front door, opening it quickly before the lobby got more crowded. I sighed and let Pinto walk in front of me, so I could keep an eye on her. However, I was not prepared from what was coming up next.

"Yo! Parappa!" I heard a voice call out from behind me. I knew who's voice that was. It was Melody's. I smiled and immediately caught nostalgia. '_Just like old times'_ I thought before I turned around slowly. My face then turned to a face of shock. There before me, were the Misfits. Melody was standing in front of them like a proud beaver that just finished its dam.

"Caught ya off guard didn't I?" She smiled and ran up to me, the group following closely behind her. Oh I forgot. We made that group yesterday…it wasn't a dream. Well then.

"No. Not really, but they did." I pointed towards the rest of the group, who just gave me nervous smiles and waves. "What are you guys doing here anyways?"

"Parappa you idiot! We are a group now! We always have to stick together! From walks to school all the way to our official meeting time!" Melody shook my shoulders. "This is business and we can't just expect to bond separately! That's not right at all!"

"Ok Ok! I get it!" I put my hands up in defense, causing her to stop shaking my shoulders. She still kept that smile on her face though. Pinto walked up from behind me and gestured Zoron to walk ahead with her, since they weren't apart of the group. Astro and I just stared at them as they went off, laughing and joking about us amongst themselves. Typical girl behavior. Melody then turned from me to the group and pointed towards the sky.

"Alright Misfits, let's walk!"

"Hooray!" Everyone besides me shouted and began to walk. I just dragged myself along next to Melody, who literally talked a mile a minute.

"So did you guys here about that group showcase?"

"Isn't it sort of like a talent show, except focusing more on the groups' qualities?" Rocky asked while stepping over the cracks on the sidewalk. Yes, it was a habit for all of us. Don't judge.

"Yeah just about!" Abby smiled. "It's basically a time where the groups showcase their combined talents and share how great it is, trying to get more people to join them." He waved his finger.

"Wonder what the richies are gonna do…" Astro thought and put his hand underneath his chin.

"You mean like majority of the groups? Yeah, they will probably throw money at everyone." Ray closed his eyes and frowned.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" I asked and looked around at everyone. They all paused for a moment, before getting in their thinking stances. Didn't mean to strike them like that.

"I want to do something that will both share what we can do around here, as well as show how much fun we are!" Melody said then glanced at me with a grin. She then slowly made her way towards me, wrapping an arm around my neck. "You know gang, Parappa here is _pretty_ great a rapping. In fact, back in his old town, they called him 'Parappa the rapper'." I glared at her. I did not want that information out in the public.

"Wow really?" Astro looked from her to me and smiled. "That's so cool! I wish I could rap." He put his elbow on Abdiel's head. "You know from time to time, this pup goes into the depths of downtown and street dances for cash." That caught my interest. I looked towards Abdiel.

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah Eheh. I do it to raise money for the orphanage. It can be fun at times but at the same time, it is work." Abby scratched the back of his head.

"That could be really useful to me actually, _if _I decide to carry through with this rap. But, you could teach me some moves, and I could teach you the rap." I smiled and hit my fist on my other hand.

"I like this! I like this!" Melody shouted in excitement and held me tighter. "We already got some brainstorming going on!"

"Did I forget to mention," I glanced at Melody with a grin then looked back at the group. "Melody could sing? Yeah she is pretty great. We used to go down to the bars. She would sing and I would get a large cheesy fry with a warm glass of milk. Her mother didn't name her 'Melody' for nothing!"

"Parappa shut up!" She hit me aside the head crossed her arms.

"Is that true Melody? You can really sing?" Rocky's eyes twinkled, causing Melody to weakly smile.

"Yeah. Haven't done it in forever though. But I am not one to really showcase my talents like I used to. It just isn't my style."

"Well then Melody, if I do end up rapping, you _have_ to sing." I winked at her and held out my pinky. "Got it?" She looked from me to my hand then reluctantly wrapped her pinky around mine.

**"Fine."**

Everyone continued on with the walk before reaching the school. Rocky and Ray went off into the elementary area, while the rest of us proceeded down the middle school area. It seemed like after we all split up and got situated in our classrooms, school literally flew by. One minute we were sitting and chatting, another minute we were running a mile time trial in gym, then we were eating lunch and finally we were suffering through the lectures. I took good notes, but occasionally spaced out and thought about the group showcase. Melody did the same since she stared out the window majority of the day. I wonder if this was all really worth thinking about. After all, it was _just _a silly showcase.

* * *

The final bell rang and class was let out. Astro and I collected our stuff and put on our backpacks. Melody, however, threw her bag over her shoulder and ran up to us.

"Hey guys! We all need to gather at the entrance, I know just to place where we can start having our club meetings!" And as quick as she was there, she was gone. I just looked over at Astro, who shrugged his shoulders. We walked out of the classroom and met up with Abby, before arriving at the entrance and meeting everyone else. I only saw the group members though, so I just assumed that Pinto and Zoron walked ahead without waiting.

Melody counted everyone and put her hands on her hips. She had that smile that could kill a person just from one glance.

"Alright Misfits! I have decided where we are going to hold our club meetings! I think it really shows who we are and what we stand for!" What did she mean by that? I still don't really know why this is so serious to begin with.

"Exactly, where are we going to meet?" Rocky asked politely. Melody looked in his direction and winked.

"It's a secret!"

Secret? Naw. More like a joke. When she mentioned the area we would be meeting in suited us, she really wasn't kidding. It was a short walk sure, but what we walked to was surprising for all of us.

"An alley." I groaned as we all stood at the entrance of the dark path. "You…gotta be kidding."

"I kid you not!" Melody spun around and skipped into the alley. "It's perfect! It shows how urban we are, as well as what we are left with! An alley! Richies would never come down here, not in a million years! I even drew out floor plans for the area, like what furniture to place around and the path ways that lead up to other parts of the city! It's probably the best alley around!"

Still, an alley? I would much rather reserve a classroom or something, or even a meeting area like the arcade, or the café, but an ALLEY? I just smiled and nodded, not questioning Melody's methods.

"I think it will be great!" Abdiel smiled and walked in the path. "All these shadows are chatter boxes though. I think I can get the latest gossip in the town no sweat!"

"If you guys need a light, I can provide it for you." Astro came from behind me. Weird, did he already know where we were going to meet? He probably talked to Melody beforehand and brought a flashlight.

"Oh yes! We could use your light until we get a portable lamp! That won't fry your circuits will it?" Melody laughed. Fry his…circuits? What kind of jokes did these kids tell each other nowadays? Seriously, she made it sound like he wasn't even human.

"Commencing flash light mode." Astro said and blinked his eyes, before opening them back up, blue light beams shining about ten feet long. Wait…what?

"What the…" I looked at him in shock and took a step back. He wasn't human. He wasn't human at all! He was a robot! How did I not know that?

"Oh Parappa! Please don't be afraid!" He waved his hands, but did not look at me. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this when we first met. Guess you learn something new every day."

"This calls for our first ice breaker!" Melody pointed towards the sky. What was she doing, stating all of our activities to God? "Everybody get in a circle! Astro, you can keep your lights on."

I reluctantly made my way closer to everyone, as we all formed a circle. Mind you, we weren't really that close. The circle was big. I wonder why.

"Alright! Since Parappa is new here, we are gonna each introduce ourselves and showcase our individual talents!" Melody looked around and grinned. What was this, a practice for the group showcase? I just stood there and watched her go on.

"Permission to go first?" Rocky raised his hand. I didn't realize he was right next to me. Guess he is just that short.

"Sure! Go ahead! The floor is yours!" Melody motioned him to the middle while everyone else just watched. Rocky scurried to the middle and spun around.

"Well, my name is Rocky, I am currently eight years old, and I am in third grade!" He paused and glanced at me with a smile. "Have you ever seen a flying squirrel before?"

"I can't say I have." I answered.

"Well," He spread out his arms and revealed his patagiums, placing his blue goggles over his eyes before taking off in the air and circling the alley. Everyone looked up and clapped while I just stared in disbelief. How did he manage to do that? Sign me up for lesson, because it seems pretty sick!

Rocky made his way back down to the middle of the hole, smiling and placing his goggles back on his head. He then looked back at me.

"Pretty cool huh?"

"I'll say! Where did you learn how to do that?"

"It's in my blood. We flying squirrels are natural born flyers. Ray can attest to that since he is also a flying squirrel himself." The grey squirrel said as he pointed to Ray, who just gave a small nod, before looking at the ground. I could've sworn he was staring at me a few seconds prior to Rocky's statement.

"Well, that's just about it for me! Who is next?"

"I'll go!" Abdiel shot his hand up, before skipping in the middle of the circle. He cleared his throat and spun around so everyone could see his smile. "Well helloooo! I'm Abdiel! I am ten years old and I am a calm six grader!" Calm. Really? "I also play around with shadows from here and there. Nothing too much though!" He looked at his own shadow, and pointed towards it, making it rise up and stand next to him. It then started mimicking his movements, which consisted of silly dancing and hopping around the circle. Everyone just laughed.

"Nothing more to it! Well then," He looked straight at Astro. "Your turn!" He smiled and made his shadow go back to the ground, before skipping back to his spot. Astro then slowly made his way to the middle, looking up at the sky.

"I don't wanna blind anyone eheh…but ehem. My name is Astro, I am eleven years old, and…" He pointed towards me, as if he were addressing me. "I am a robot." I just stared and gave a nod. I could just believe anything right now.

"How exciting." I clapped twice.

"Melody, your turn." Astro said as he walked back to his spot.

"Alright!" She sprinted and skidded to a halt in the middle, before spinning around. Why did they all do that? "My name is Melody, I am twelve years old and I am in seventh grade! Oh and…" She looked at me and grinned evilly. Oh God, what was she thinking? She took her foot and slammed it into the ground, causing some rocks to come upward. She then did some weird gesture with her hands and made the rocks come together to form a volleyball sized boulder. She threw it up twice then chucked it straight at me.

"Think fast Parappa!" I just stared for a second before, I truly processed what was going on. Melody had just thrown a small boulder at me. A rock. And it was coming straight at me, pretty fast I might add.

"Ah no!" I flinched before I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes, only to find the rock floating right next to my shoulder. I quickly looked at Melody, who had her hand up with a smile. She then put it down, making the rock fall to my feet.

"You really think I'd hit you with that?" She burst into a loud laughter while everyone else just scratched the back of their heads. Well, everyone besides Ray. He hadn't really done anything since he was addressed by Rocky. And he occasionally stared at me. I noticed that he did that a lot. Either I looked funny to him or something was up that I didn't know about.

"Hey Ray, do you have something to show?" I cleared my throat and said to him, still hearing Melody's annoying laugh in the background.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Oh." I looked around before looking back at him. "Rocky said you could fly, I think that's pretty cool!"

"Yeah." He looked at me before looking back at the ground. He was quite the chatter box, huh.

"Alright guys! Now that we got that out of the way, we can discuss what were are going to be doing, and how we are gonna decorate the alley!" Melody stopped her laughed and looked around at everyone. "Abby, do you think the orphanage can donate an old couch?"

"Yeah! I actually have one in my room that I don't use anymore. I think it would suit the club nicely!" He smiled.

"Great! Astro, your dad is a scientist. Can't he somehow create a portable lamp for the outdoors? Ya know, something that doesn't need batteries and can last for a long time?" Melody looked at Astro, who was unfortunately, still looking at the sky.

"I can see what I can do. I'm sure he will have no problems doing it. It might take a few days though, since he is so busy."

"Wait a sec." I jumped in and looked at Melody. "What's wrong with a portal lamp from the store? Sure it takes batteries but it's not like that is a main issue or anything."

"Pfft. Do you even _know _Doctor Tenma? He makes the best things in town! And he makes free things for us from time to time, so why not?" Melody crossed her arms. Free. That's probably the trigger right there.

"Well, no arguments there" I waved my hands and sighed.

"Hmm what else do we need? Oh! A table! Rocky? Do you think you and your brother can fix something up for us?" Melody looked at the squirrel, who sweat dropped at the question.

"I wouldn't mind doing it, but I am afraid if I let Bullwinkle near it, he will break it. Ray can help me, I'm sure." So he had another brother? Wonder if he was flying squirrel as well.

"Even better! Now let's see, I think that is a good start for now! Oh one more thing! Parappa?"

"What?"

"You are in charge of bringing snacks from your father's deli shop every day!" Was she serious?

"Every day?! Why do I have to do it!?" I waved my arms in the air.

"Because I said so, baka!" She huffed and stomped on the gravel, making me trip from the sudden shake. "I won't take no for an answer!"

"Grumble grumble…"

"What was that?"

"I said ok." I rubbed my bottom and slowly stood back up, dusting myself off.

"Good! That's what I thought you said. Now then, the meeting for today is dismissed. We will talk more about the showcase tomorrow." She made her way out of the alley way, followed by the rest of the group. Once we hit the light, Astro cheered and turned his eye lights off.

"Finally! I was feeling a bit drowsy." He chuckled. I just stared.

"Robots shouldn't get drowsy."

"Aww c'mon! That's not fair!" He pleaded and walked up next to me, clasping his hands together. No. What isn't fair is that fact that I was amongst weirdoes. I still didn't understand how I fit in with them all. I didn't have any powers like them or special abilities, so why me?

The rest of the walk consisted of Astro trying to apologize to me, Abdiel scaring Rocky with his shadows, and Melody riding on my back majority of the way. It felt like the day dragged on and on, but we all eventually split off to our homes and made our way to bed. I honestly felt like sleeping would be better than anything, since you know, you can dream about whatever you want. Well, most of the time anyway. It would be that same night though, that I discovered just how real one's dreams can be; the hard way.

* * *

It was so peaceful, and so quiet. The air was nice and cool. The moon shined brightly as well. I was comfortably tucked into my covers on my bed, sleeping soundly. Nothing could wake me up, nothing. Or so I thought. As I rolled to my other side of my bed, I heard a small knock. At first I ignored it, but as it continued, I eventually forced myself out of my bed and walked from the room to the front door. Who could be at the door at this hour? I slowly opened it and rubbed my eyes.

"Hello?" I looked then paused to see that once melancholy squirrel, smiling wide at me.

"Greetings, Parappa." He smiled and gave a small wave.

"Ray? I thought…you hated me…or something." I rubbed my eyes again. He just chucked before looking back at me.

"I hope I am not disturbing you, but I have to talk to you. It's rather urgent." He took my hand and pulled me out of the apartment room. He then closed the door and grabbed my hand again, taking me to the elevator.

"Gah! Ray! What's going on?" I stumbled as we went into the elevator. He just looked at me and smiled.

"Hold on tight, Parappa." He smiled and clicked several buttons. I then noticed the elevator, flashing different colors. Woah that has never happened before! The elevator then began to twirl around and move upwards at a rather fast pace. I gripped onto the bars on the side and braced myself. Ray on the other hand just stood in the middle, hands behind his back and smiled calmly.

"How can you be so calm right now?"

"Hmm?" He looked at me. "Why wouldn't I be?" Just…forget it. I just kept my mouth shut and gripped the bars tighter. After a few seconds, the elevator came to a halt, opening its doors and revealing a golden utopia.

"Wow…" I gaped and slowly exited the elevator. It was incredible, remarkable, a work of the gods themselves! "I could live here…" I whispered, making Ray frown and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You…basically do."

"No way! I live in that old crappy apartment!"

"I meant…in your dreams Parappa. Your inner most desires." Ray sighed and gestured around. "This is your dream place. Also, this is where the richies come from…"

"Wait, what do you mean 'where the richies come from'? I thought they were just average rich people that moved into town." I scratched my head.

"No no, they came from here. You brought them here." Ray took his hand off my shoulder and walked forward. I just followed behind, trying to process this whole thing.

"So, I am the cause of them coming to Rally Alley?"

"Yes."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Ever since Melody moved away…" Ray lowered his head and looked at the smooth grass. He noticed a flower and plucked it from the ground, holding it to his nose. "You used to have a somewhat tolerance for this city, since Melody showed you the pros of it. However, when she moved away, all you saw were the cons, and things within your thoughts started to turn into its own reality."

"How come I didn't notice it?" I looked at him in disbelief. Man, everything was just happening around me today.

"You are unaware of your own power, and even after I show you what your power has done, you still won't truly be able to control it." He plucked one petal off. "It is something we can't touch. Your desires are your own. All me and the gang can do is keep you stable."

"Keep me stable?"

"Correct." He smiled brightly at me and plucked another petal. "Every time you have a negative thought about the city, a portal appears. Many have appeared in the past, but we were unaware at the time, thus leaving the richies room to enter the city and slowly take over."

"This sounds really silly." I pushed my fingers against my temples. "This is just a dream that I haven't awakened from yet. And you are still at the orphanage sleeping. Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Parappa, you gotta believe me…you gotta believe _us_." Ray slightly frowned and plucked another petal from the flower. "We made that group to keep you stable, keep you from having those wishful thoughts."

"What exactly is wrong with having a rich utopia? I think the city needs it! In fact, I wouldn't mind living in a rich area. Sure my dad would have to find a better paying job, but that doesn't mean he would want it too!" I gestured to the golden city and spun around. "This is exactly what I want!"

"It's something that you want, but is it something that everyone else wants?" Ray plucked another petal. Only two were left.

"Well, I think? I'm sure they wouldn't mind!"

"You're wrong." He smiled sadly and plucked the second to last petal. "Melody, Pinto and your father love this place, no matter how terrible it seems to you. Their desires lie within this town, keeping your desires at a halt." Ray looked at me and smiled again. "You know, Melody has no idea what is going on. She just thinks this group is for the better good of the community as well as the school. If I or the rest of the gang were to tell her, she wouldn't know how to process it all. Let's just say, it would be chaos."

"Didn't she make the group though? How could she have not known about you or anyone else?"

"She did make the group, but she had no idea that the issue she was fighting for was well beyond the city. Heck, we didn't even know until we met you. It then made sense. The puzzle pieces were finally in place. We made you the leader, so you could enjoy the city a little bit more, as well as the friends who share the same love for the city. Do you think we were prepared for all of this? Not really. Rocky and I needed something to do after school, Abdiel wanted to help with the community, Astro wanted to make more friends, and Melody…well we already know why she made it."

I just stared at him like he had been speaking in another language. I still had a hard time processing this. Hmm, let me try to recap it. I, Parappa, caused these so called 'richies' to appear, because of my wishful thinking or something like that, but the only reason why the thoughts haven't completely taken over is because of my family and mainly Melody. Make sense? It's ok if you don't understand, I still don't.

"Here's a question, Ray." I looked straight at him. "What is your role in all of this?" He just stared at me for a moment, before putting his hand underneath his chin.

"I have said a lot already, hmm, should I…?" He looked from me back to his flower that had only one petal left. He then dropped the flower and walked up towards me. "I guess…you can just call us your protectors!"

"Protectors?" I laughed. It was time for me to wake up. I had enough of this dream.

"It's true!" He huffed and looked away. "You are like the richies' hero, since you created a way for them to come here. That's why we got you in our group, since a lot of those kids at the school want you to conform to their ways. Believe it or not, once we get back to school, you will have some come up to you and befriend you. That's where we come in!" He jumped up cheerfully.

"So I can't have other friends?" I crossed my arms. "Sounds a bit overly protective if you ask me…"

"No no! Don't think of it like that! We don't mind you making more friends, but we will be keeping an eye out for you. Some of the kids are like us and won't mean you any harm." He looked straight at me and kept his smile, but had a weird look in his eye. "If I personally find any of them trying to take you away from us…" He chuckled silently and looked back at me. "I'll kill them."

"…" I looked right into his eyes and found myself shaking. The scary part about both the way he said that last part and the way he looked was the fact that he was dead serious. I could tell.

"It's time to go back now." He smiled.

"Wait…huh?" I was still shaking from where I stood. "Oh, ok."

"I wish I had more time, but I have already said too much!" Ray sighed with a small smile.

"Oh…yeah…it's a lot to take in…" I laughed nervously.

"I don't even think we will have time to take the elevator! Oh what a shame, looks like I will have to return you the other way." He frowned and rubbed one of his knuckles. I stared at him and cracked a nervous smile.

"Umm R-Ray? What do you mean by…" I was stopped instantly and felt like I had got the wind knocked out of me. Wait a second. I looked down and noticed Ray's fist against my stomach. I had no idea a small third grader could punch so hard. I fell to my knees and rolled over.

"Owie…."

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He held his hands to his mouth. "Just close your eyes, and count to three!" He sounded worried and frightened. Guess that was why he hated that method. I slowly nodded and closed my eyes.

"One…two…"

**"RINGGG!"**

"What…ring? That doesn't come after…" I rubbed my eyes and noticed I was lying in my bed, next to the ringing clock. I slowly reached over to turn it off, and sat up in my bed, rubbing my temples.

"Man, what a crazy dream." I yawned and scratched my head. I looked around and noticed Dad gone for work, and Pinto running about, yet again. I just proceeded to get ready, trying my hardest to push that stupid dream away.

* * *

"You're late!" Melody tapped her foot on the ground with her arms crossed. I rubbed my eyes and just gave a lazy thumbs up, before walking towards her. Pinto had left before me, since I was moving too slow for her, so I came down to where the group met up with me yesterday twenty minutes late.

"Sorry…I just…had a nightmare last night." I yawned before approaching the armadillo face to face.

"Hmm? You don't look too well. Do you think you are sick or something?" She cocked her head all the way to the side and looked at me.

"No…I think I am good." I pulled my hat over my eyes and walked in the opposite direction. "To school…!"

The group just looked from one another and shrugged, before following behind me.

The walk to school was quieter today than yesterday. Nobody really said anything, not even Melody. It was like that for school as well, Astro was pretty quiet in class, which was _very_ rare. Abdiel was pretty quiet during lunch too, which again, was also pretty rare. I wasn't really in the mood to care though. I was still super tired and drowsy majority of the day. Something did, however, occur after our first class lecture.

I was lying on my desk during our break, before noticing a shadow cast itself over my head. I slowly looked up and saw a group of kids standing around me. They didn't look like bullies or anything though.

"Hello there!" One of them waved with a smiled. "You are the new kid here right?" I just gave a nod.

"Sweet! We don't really get a whole lot of new kids around here, but we are glad we did! Looks like you could use some company!" Another kid chimed in a grinned. I rubbed my eyes and sat up in my seat.

"Who are you guys?"

"We are the C.O.P! Otherwise known as the 'Community Outreach Program'! We are a little bit like the High School Beta Club." The first person said and gestured to the kids around her. "These are my partners: Guinn, Angelica, Dexter and my name is Mina, Mina the mongoose!" She smiled as the rest of them waved. I gave a small smile and waved back. Strange, the three kids around her were human. I guess the school has more of them than I thought.

"Nice to meet you all. This is a surprise to me, since everyone else has kind of…well…ignored me."

"Aww! Well they are just a bunch of meanies! We would _never_ do that to you! After all, you are new here!" Mina smiled and handed me a card. "That's just some information about where we meet and what we do. We are actually having a meeting today, do you wanna come?"

"Aw gee, I dunno. I sort of already have a group…"

"Oh, well maybe some other time then! We are always here!" She winked and walked back to her desk, along with the other students. I just looked from them to the card. Looking around, I stuffed it in my pocket, just in case I wanted to use it later.

The class lecture picked back up shortly after that, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I thought about the dream I had last night, but began to think of it as just a dream. Nothing extravagant even happened that day, so why even believe it. I then thought about the C.O.P. It sounded interesting enough, but I felt like if I skipped out on a meeting with the Misfits, they would get worried or even upset. I sighed and took the card out again, looking straight at it. I then looked over at Astro, who was taking notes and paying attention to Felix's lecture. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, smiling to myself.

_'It would just be considered a visit. One visit couldn't hurt…right? After all, I could use more friends._'

* * *

**Well, now we ****_really _****know why the group was formed! And we got to see some of the gang's abilities! That isn't all though. More characters are popping up and more exciting events occur from here on out! Hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I really appreciate the feedback I get! It truly means a lot! Disclaimer: All characters rightfully belong to their owners. Melody and Abdiel belong to me. Here comes another power packed chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Room 301…Ah here it is!" I looked from the card to the door and smiled wide. I felt very good about my decision for some reason. The fact that I was invited and not forced was the prime factor for my choice.

When Astro waited for me at the door earlier, I told him to go on and that I would catch up with them in a little bit. He gave me a puzzled look and went on. I felt bad, knowing that I lied and would spend my time at C.O.P today, but I couldn't tell them that. That would make me suck as a leader.

Taking a deep breath, I carefully turned the knob and opened the door, but I was a bit surprised to only find Mina in the room. Perhaps everyone else hadn't shown yet. Yeah that was probably it. The mongoose looked up at me and smiled.

"Ah, Parappa! You came!" She got up from the table in the middle and ran up to me, giving me a quick hug. I just looked up at the ceiling, blushing like an idiot. She let go and kept her smile. "It looks like it's only us today…everyone else had something going on."

"Oh, bummer. Is the meeting off then?" I frowned and mentally snapped my fingers. Looks like I was stuck with the Misfits.

"Oh no! I was thinking you and I could go to that small café around the corner. I can explain the club activities there and even tell you a little bit about myself." She winked and collected her items from the table, before walking back to me. "Shall we?"

"Uh yeah sure…" I looked away and walked out of the room with her.

She was quite the chatter box. During our walk, she told me about past community projects they did as well as what they were thinking to do for the club showcase. From what she told me, they were all for the 'Go Green' slogan. Mina herself was a plant lover and loved the outdoors. She said the club made her appreciate nature and its beauty a little bit more, as well as the people of the community. I nodded and smiled at her while she said these things, occasionally looking at the ground.

"Ah we are here!" Mina pointed towards the café. She smiled at me and gently took my hand, leading me inside. I was a lost puppy at that point. All I could think about as she led me to a table was how soft her hands were. I don't know why it caught me off guard, but it just made me feel relaxed. "What about here Parappa?" I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed she pointed to a booth.

"Oh that's fine." I gave a nod. I whimpered a little as she let go of my hand and took her seat on the opposite side of me. I proceeded to sit down on my side, taking my hat off and setting it beside me.

"So, Parappa," Mina crossed her arms on the table and looked at me with a smile, "What do you think about C.O.P?"

"It sounds really nice. All of the things you guys do seem to impact the community tremendously." I gave a small smile.

"Does it sound like something you'd be interested in?" she leaned her head to the side and kept that calm smile. I looked away, pretending to mess with something in my seat.

"Yeah it does….but like I said before," I sighed and groaned, "I am currently the leader of another group." It hurt to say that…it really did.

"You know," She closed her eyes and continued to smile, "You can be a member of more than one club." This made my ears rise. I quickly looked back to her and put my hands on the table.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah! You can be a leader of one group, but be a member of any other group you choose. It isn't limited at all. It looks good on resumes for high school." She opened her eyes and looked around the area. I just sat there in utter shock. Why didn't my group tell me that? It's almost as if they were trying to keep me from interacting with others. That itself made me very upset.

Mina looked back at me and noticed me grumbling and mumbling to myself. She sighed and calmly sat up and leaned over, poking my forehead. That immediately got my attention and made me look straight at her.

"Don't beat yourself up over it Parappa. Now that you know it, you can do something about it." She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. I couldn't help but to smile weakly at her. Her calm demeanor for some reason made it hard to have any other feelings but contentment.

"Are you thirsty?" I asked as I cleared my throat. We had been seated for a good two minutes and we hadn't even gone up to order anything.

"Actually," She put her finger underneath her chin, "I heard from some friends that your father works at the best deli meat store in town. Perhaps, you can take me there and have him fix us some of those delicious sandwiches!" She looked back at me and smiled wide. I didn't know whether or not to feel honored for her wanting to meet my dad or scared that she would think he was weird or something.

"Well, if that's what you want." I sighed and got up from the table, along with her. We both made our way out of the café and walked in the direction of my apartment. I wondered how the group was doing by themselves. After all, they were still kinda expecting me to show. I could only imagine how angry Melody was. Hopefully they called it off or something.

The walk between Mina and I was a bit more quiet than earlier. She would occasionally say something about class, and I would reply with something sarcastic that made her laugh. She had a nice laugh by the way, and her purple hair was something else. It was wavy and reached to the middle of her back. She had told me it was down to her legs at one point but she decided to start over. I didn't mind her mid length hair though: It suited her nicely.

She asked me more about myself as well, and I told her everything. Call me crazy, but I felt like I could trust her. I told her about my mom, about the dumb move, about my sister and even mentioned Melody. She nodded and listened intently, occasionally saying 'I'm sorry' or 'Oh wow'. She was a very good listener. I felt better after I told her about myself, and it made things seem less awkward between us.

I asked about her family as well, but she was a little hesitant at first. She then told me how strict it was and how boring it was to her. From what she told me, she was stickin rich, but she still felt unsatisfied. She found herself getting out of the house a lot and coming downtown to take in the urban life. It made me smile. The group was wrong about richies. Not all of them enjoyed their life. Some of them wanted to live like the rest of us. Mina, for a fact, had a huge interest in the urban life. In fact, the last thing she said before we arrived at the deli shop really hit me.

"If I could trade places with you, I would." She weakly smiled and looked up at the deli shop sign.

"Well, we are here." I smiled and opened the door for her. She giggled and thanked me, before walking in. I followed her and led her to the front counter, groaning at the sight of my dad dancing with his head phones on, facing away from us. They must've had a calm evening. "DAD!"

"Hmm what?" He turned around and beamed when he saw me and Mina standing in front of him. "SON! You are here! And you brought a girl~" He grinned and looked at Mina. "What's your name?"

"Mina the mongoose, sir." She smiled and gave a small wave.

"Mina was hoping to try one of your signature deli sandwiches, _dad._" I squinted at him as he kept smiling at Mina.

"Yeah, sure of course! It'll be on the house! Just tell me what you want and I will fix it up for ya!" He smiled cheerfully and got some bread out and set it on the counter.

"Hmm, let me see…" Mina went up to the glass where all the meat was displayed. "Let me have, some pork and a small amount of ham with barbeque sauce, please." She looked back to me. "What are you going to get Parappa?"

"I just get ham and cheese." I nodded and looked at my dad, who was already making the sandwiches. "Add two waters with that too, dad."

"You got it!" He finished up the sandwiches and wrapped them up in paper. He then reached down to the fridge and got two water bottles out, setting them next to sandwiches. "Are you all eating here?"

"Nope, we are gonna walk around some more and eat." I said and took the sandwiches and bottles. I handed Mina her sandwich and drink, before giving my dad a small salute. "Seeya tonight."

"It was nice meeting you!" Mina smiled and waved towards my dad, making her way out the door. I followed behind her.

"Well," I unwrapped my sandwich and took a bite, "Where to now?"

"Hmm…" She unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. "Wow this is good!"

"Yeah, it sure is" I took another bite of mine before looking around.

"Would you mind, taking me to your place?" Mina asked, making me nearly spit all of my food out of my mouth. I quickly looked at her with bewilderment in my eyes.

"You're…joking…right?"

"Not at all." She giggled nervously. I sighed deeply and scratched my head, and then I realized something. My hat wasn't on my head. Shoot, I must've left it at the café! I looked back to her and smiled sadly.

"Unfortunately, I left my hat back at the café, so we can head back that way. Then I can take you home."

"Oh…I see." She smiled sadly herself and took a bite of her sandwich. "It is getting rather late. In fact, if I just take this next upcoming corner, I should be headed in the direction of my house." She pointed to the corner on the left side of the shop. "I hope you don't mind heading back to the café by yourself."

"Naw, it's cool. Do you need me to walk you back home?"

"No no. It's alright." She smiled and looked at me. "I had a lot of fun."

"Mhm, I did too." I chuckled and scratched the back of my head.

"Will you be back at the club room tomorrow?" She looked at me, her eyes basically pleading to mine.

"We will see." I gave a thumbs up. She laughed and gave a small nod, before looking at me again. For some reason, my heart started beating faster than normal. The way she was looking at me made me feel a bunch of butterflies in my stomach. My face grew warm and I quickly looked away. "Well, seeya." I ran off, leaving her confused.

I didn't stop running. I sprinted all the way to the café, coughing and wheezing since I was not in much shape. I felt my chest and still noticed my heart beating uncontrollably. I tried to take deep breaths to slow the beating down, but there was still no luck. I would just have to walk back home after I get my hat, that would calm it.

I opened up the café doors and looked around. I then noticed my hat, but it was on someone else's head. I couldn't see the person clearly though, since they were facing away from me in a booth. I could only see the orange from my hat. I popped my chest outward, and began walking towards the idiot. How dare they take MY hat? It has my name inside of it, so why couldn't they put it in the lost and found or something? Rude.

I approached the figure and crossed my arms, putting on the best man face I could.

"Hey man, that's my hat. Now if you don't mind, I will be taking it back." I reached towards it, then felt the person's hand firmly grab mine. "Ack! What the heck?!"

"Parappa, you missed the meeting today." I heard a melancholy voice say. Wait a minute…oh. Crap.

"Ray?"

He looked up at me, his blue eyes dull and his smile from before gone. He let go of my hand and took the hat off, pushing it against my chest.

"I hope you enjoy your new girlfriend…jerk." He looked at the ground and firmly pushed me aside, calmly walking out of the door. I just stood there in silence, and looked at my hat, quickly putting it on and running out the doorway.

"Ray! Wait!" I ran to him, but he didn't bother to turn around. I finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulders, turning him around to face me. He just stared. "I don't understand…what you mean by that."

"We waited three hours for you. We thought you were coming. Melody was a bit heart broken. Astro felt lied to. It's like, you ignored the warnings I gave you."

"Those warnings…so it wasn't a dream."

"No, but you kept pushing it aside and saying it was." Ray shook himself out of my grasp then looked at the floor. "Whatever she has told you today was to lure you in. She even has those cutesy charms." He looked back at me then placed a hand on my chest. I just stood there, feeling both awkward and confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking your heartbeat." He closed his eyes for a moment. They then shot open and glared at mine. I had no idea what was happening, but I wasn't expecting the slap that came afterwards.

"Ouch! Ray what is your problem?!" I rubbed my cheek and took a step back.

"You let some stranger, take your heart." He looked at the ground, his fists clenched tight.

"S-So? What is that supposed to mean? Look, I don't know what everyone's deal is with the richies. They are nice and just misunderstood. Mina even wants to trade lives with me, because she hates her so much." I glared back at him and walked up to him, facing him. "You don't understand her like I do. Sure, we just met each other, but I feel like this was all meant to happen. Like, we were destined to be close. I could show her what the urban life is all about, and she could show me her life. I can even introduce you to her!" I threw my hands up in the air.

"You are such an idiot." Ray whispered. "Letting her in like that. You just made things easier for them."

"Well, I don't care! In fact, I am glad I did! I can teach them a thing or two and they can do the same for me! It's all for the best! Why can't you guys understand that!?" I was yelling at the top of my lungs at this point. Ray just stood there in silence. His look was cold, cold enough to send a shiver down my spine. He then turned around and put his hands in his pockets, walking away. I stood in the same spot and breathed loudly from my yelling. I felt a little proud of myself for standing up for what I believed in, but at the same time, I felt scared. Believe it or not, Ray scared the fur out of me. He was like two different people. I was just thankful he didn't do anything severe to me. I'd take a slap over something else any day.

When I noticed he was out of sight, I proceeded to walk in the same direction, heading for home.

* * *

I ignored everyone the next day. I didn't talk to Astro, I skipped lunch, and I avoided the group at the end of the day. Instead, I met up with C.O.P in room 301 like I did the day before. This time, the whole group was there, and they took me out to plant some flowers in the school courtyard. For once in a while, I actually enjoyed myself.

"Isn't this nice?" Guinn asked as she dug up some holes with a shovel. "The school deserves much more!"

"I think these flowers will show just who we are." Dexter fixed his glasses and brought over the fresh flowers.

"Ah, lilies! Those will do nicely!" Angelica smiled and took one of them and placed it in the hole.

"What do you think Parappa?" Mina turned to me as she took some flowers and placed them in another hole.

"Oh, uhh it's great. Yeah." I gave a quick nod and looked over at the flowers. Sure it was nice and all. In fact, I was one hundred percent for it, but something felt off. Ever since Ray got to me yesterday, I have felt a tiny bit of guilt. This would be the second day I skipped the meeting with the Misfits for C.O.P. Sure, part of me felt great about all of this, but the other part of me felt really bad.

"Parappa?" Guinn looked over at me and frowned. "You aren't thinking about that other group are you?"

"Huh? Oh no! Not at all!"

"Who needs them? They are a bunch of 'misfits' anyway." Dexter said and waved a hand. I gulped and just smiled weakly. He was talking about my…well…friends and I couldn't even bring myself to say anything.

"If you _really _wanted to," Angelica started, wiping her forehead with the back of her head, "you could just quit and become our leader."

"Yeah! That would be fun!" Guinn grinned and stood up. "After all, you don't really like them anyway, do you Parappa?"

"Well…umm…I…" I shook and looked at the ground.

"Guys, don't overwhelm him." Mina sighed and looked at the three teens. "Give him some time."

"Well alright, alright…" Angelica sighed and patted the dirt down around the planted flowers. "They are all weird though, ever notice that? Especially that Melody girl."

"Yeah, I heard she got kicked out of her old school. So she moved back here. She causes some mayhem during class and even skips from time to time." Guinn snorted. I felt like I was watching them talk from a distance: I literally couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"You wanna know what else I heard? That Astro kid's father had to go through rehab. He just recently got out. He had some crazy drinking addiction…" Angelica took her gloves off and twirled her hair.

"Oh yeah I remember hearing about that! And let's not forget when Astro 'accidently' burned his papers while he gave his presentation. Apparently his hands get really hot when he is nervous." Guinn laughed. Dexter laughed loudly as well and decided to join in on their little gossip.

"He isn't that bad, he is just weird. But you want to know who is really weird? Abdiel. He talks to himself all the time, and he acts more like a little girl than anything. Not to mention he looks funny, having only one full arm and all." He waved his finger at the two girls. They all laughed. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They were literally judging them. But for some reason, I still couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"Now, I'll admit, the squirrel twins are pretty cute. But when they are separate, it's like they are each other's opposites. Rocky is a bit too hyper active at times while Ray is just moody and silent. Babysit those two together and you got yourself a pair of angels. Just…never babysit them separate. I learned that the hard way." Angelica shook her head and groaned.

"Wait…" I quietly said, but decided to keep my mouth shut. I had no idea she babysat the squirrel boys before. I wasn't about to say anything though, since I was scared to be bashed myself.

"They actually let you babysit the orphans?" Dexter crossed his arms and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, it was for a volunteer program they were holding last summer. Knowing me, I wanted to participate and help out in any way I could. When I got to draw a name from the hat for who I was gonna take care of over the summer, I got those two. It was odd, since their names were on the same paper. I just figured they wanted to be together. But anyway, I spent the first time introducing myself and playing some icebreaker games with them. They seemed pretty chill and stuff, but not the next time. The instructor insisted I split them apart for once and see how they reacted." She shook he head and groaned. "They were the opposite."

"Wow, sounds rough." Guinn put her hands on her hips.

"Are you guys done?" I turned to my left and saw Mina looking at the three of them sternly.

"What? We were just chatting…" Angelica pouted and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, about his friends." Mina glared and stood up. "If we don't have any more planting to do, we can call it for the day."

"Well alright." Guinn sighed and packed up the gardening tools. Everyone else did the same while I just stood up and placed my backpack on my back. I looked over to Mina, who looked back at me and weakly smiled.

"Sorry about all of that…" She whispered. "I will make it up to you later."

"No no, it's ok." I waved my hands in front of me. But it wasn't ok. They talked trash about everyone, and I just sat there like an idiot.

"No Parappa…it's not." She sighed and looked at the three teens again, before looking back at me. "I should've said something sooner. I know those people mean a lot to you…" She took one of my hands and held it. "Do you think…I can make it up to you?" I blushed and quickly looked away. I didn't want to turn down this offer, but at the same time, I felt bad for having it end up like this. None of this would've happened if I had just said something. But then again…Mina was offering to make it up to me. She was a cute girl. A really cute girl…

"Urm…s-s-sure…" I choked out what select words I had and gave her a weak smile, still having a face as red as a tomato.

"Cool. Hey guys?" She turned back to the three humans. "Me and Parappa are going to leave. We will see you all tomorrow!" She waved and let go of my hand. Darn it. "Ready to go?"

"Y-Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be." And with that, Mina and I walked out from the courtyard and out of the school.

* * *

We found ourselves at the ice cream parlor, the same one I took Melody to a year or so ago. I decided to pay for our cones, since Mina went through enough trouble earlier. It was the least I could do after all. We both sat down on the bench and silently licked our ice cream. I would occasionally glance at her, her emerald green eyes focused on the food before her. Yeah sure, it was stalkerish…but come on: if you were sitting next to a cute girl, wouldn't you do the same thing?

"Enjoying your ice cream, Parappa?" Mina looked over to me and caught my glance.

"Oh y-yeah! It's great!"

"I had a feeling you'd be one to like chocolate." She giggled and looked at my ice cream. "Although, aren't dogs typically not allowed to eat it?"

"We can only have so much at a time. It has been awhile since I had some ice cream." I licked my cone and smiled. "I only eat it for _special occasions._"

"Oh really?" Mina grinned playfully and turned towards me. "What's the occasion then?"

"An uh….friendly outing!" I pointed to the sky, making the mongoose laugh.

"That sounds about right, yeah!" She giggled then looked back at her ice cream. Her precious smile suddenly turned to a sad frown. "So listen, Parappa…"

"Hmm? What is it?" I finished up my ice cream and looked over to her.

"There's…something I need to tell you." She twiddled her fingers and closed her eyes. "I don't know if this is a safe location to do it or not…"

"Safe location? What do you mean by safe location?" I questioned with a puzzled expression. She then stood up and put out her hand.

"I can take us somewhere safer…if you let me." I looked from her to her hand and gave a weak smile, holding her hand with a firm grasp.

"You can take me wherever you'd like, Mina."

She smiled and in a sudden flash, we were gone. I felt like the way we were traveling, time was moving slower. Plus, I felt a bunch of wind hit my face as I was held from the hand. Wait a minute. We went time traveling; we were still on the ground. I looked over to Mina, and say her focused on what was ahead. She then made a quick turn and came to a halt, carefully letting go of my hand. I adjusted my hat and looked around. Where were we?

It took me a moment for my eyes to readjust, and once they did, I knew exactly where we were. This was very alley the Misfits met up each day.

"Mina, why did you take me here?" I looked over to her, but noticed she was hugging herself and shaking. I took a step in front on her and made her face me. "Mina?"

"They can't find us here…" She whispered and kept hugging herself.

"Who can't find us here? What do you mean?"

"C.O.P…" She looked up at me and weakly smiled. "I…made a mistake. I shouldn't have given you the card."

"But why Mina? I like C.O.P! It's a great club!" I put my hands on her shoulders, but she refused to look at me after I said such.

"No…" She sniffled. "It's all my fault…"

"Mina…" I tilted her chin up and noticed her eyes were filled with tears. "Please…tell me what is going on?"

"I am…like one of their pawns…I feel so bad. At first, they encouraged me to get to know you for their reasons only, then well…I sort of got…attached." She began to blush but kept looking at me.

"Attached? What do you mean by attached?"

"I started to feel more for you than what I was supposed to. After spending a day with you Parappa, I got to realize just how special you were. I then realized I didn't want you to fall into their controlling hands." She weakly smiled.

All of this was overwhelming. I then realized exactly what Ray tried to tell me last night. He was right in some ways, but missed one minor thing; Mina didn't want me to have anything to do with them. Even though she started out with that mindset, she fought it off, something Ray wouldn't dream of a richie doing.

"Mina…" I smiled then shook my head quickly. "Why did you bring me here, to tell me all that information? You know this is where the Misfits meet."

"I know." She closed her eyes and grinned. "It was really risky…but I knew one of them would be here, listening. They can hide pretty well in spots like these after all. I wanted to make sure they heard all of this their selves."

"Wait, who are you referring to?" I let go of her shoulders and looked around.

"The one who 'talks' to himself. I know he doesn't though." She smiled and also looked around. Abdiel. Was he here?

"Abby? If you are here, come on out bud." I sort of whispered, making sure not to attract attention to myself. I then smiled when I noticed a shadow figure rise from the ground and walk towards us. For some reason, I felt a bit better since a ground member was here. He came closer to the entrance where the light was, revealing a weak smile and closed eyes.

"Sorry for eavesdropping." He waved a hand and looked towards Mina. "Umm…H-Hi."

"Hello, Abdiel."

"So Abby," I cleared my throat and looked towards him, "What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I was actually trying to get out and about from the orphanage for a while. I then overheard that a certain someone would be here, so I made my way here and just hid." He nodded and kept looking over at Mina. "I admire your bravery, but what will your superiors think?"

"They won't really know for a while since I told Parappa in a safe location. I can just keep playing the part for now and act like nothing has happened. Parappa can just 'lose' interest in C.O.P and just stick with the Misfits. They will probably figure out I had said something by then." She weakly smiled at the two of us. "I wouldn't mind being criticized."

"Understood." Abdiel gave a small nod and smiled at her. "Thank you for bringing him back, we were getting worried…"

"No problem at all." She looked over to me and gave me a wink. "I will see you first thing in class tomorrow!" And with that, she sped off from the alley. Wow she was fast, kind of like Sonic.

I looked over to Abdiel, who was looking at the ground. His smile was gone. I knew exactly why though; I had ditched them, two days in a row. And I didn't bother to tell them where I had been.

"Abdiel…I'm sorry." I scratched the back of my head and glanced at him. He looked up at me and weakly smiled.

"I uh…don't really mind it. I mean exploring clubs and all. But, the fact that you didn't say anything, really broke some hearts." He hugged himself and looked back at the ground. "Astro felt a bit offended that you lied to him. I hadn't seen him so stressed in ages."

"I owe you all a sincere apology." I frowned and also looked at the ground.

"Well, perhaps you can do it tomorrow. Astro wanted to try to talk to you anyways. Oh and uh…I couldn't help but to overhear you and Ray last night."

"Let me guess…the shadows?"

"Naw, I was just there. You guys just couldn't see me." He chuckled then sighed. "Don't be afraid of him though. He really does mean well. He is actually very shy and timid, but sometimes he gets angry then happy about something he really cares about. So let's just say, he really cares about you and your safety."

"That makes some sense…yeah. Oh how is Rocky?" I looked from the ground and back to him.

"He is fine. He was probably the most chill out of all of us. He would just say 'He's gonna come back.'" Abby chuckled again.

"What about you?" I sort of slipped out the question, since he hadn't said anything about himself. I soon regretted it though, since he stopped chuckling and frowned once again.

"I don't know." Silence followed after that statement.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess…I just had mixed feelings." He hugged himself tighter. "I am used to being left by people. But for some reason…you just make my shadows go nuts."

"Is that a good thing or…"

"Like I said…I don't know." He sighed and waved a hand. "Any way, I should head back to the orphanage." He looked to me. "Do you need a fast way of getting home?"

"Umm…well…yeah." I chuckled nervously. He just smiled and looked at my shadow. He lifted his hands towards it and made it into a circle.

"There, jump in. It will take you back to your apartment."

"Are you…sure…I mean, I don't wanna end up somewhere else—."

"Just jump!" He laughed. I just stared before taking a leap of faith. Sure enough, once I jumped in, I found myself jumping out of my shadow, near the entrance of the apartment door.

"Well, I owe him something for that…" I said to myself as I dusted of my clothes.

"Eh?!" I heard a familiar voice come from behind me. I immediately smirked and turned around. Sure enough, it was Melody, paused in fear.

"Well, hello there Ms." I tipped my hat and bowed. She snorted and quickly looked away.

"What are you doing here?" She said in an angry tone.

"I could ask you the same thing." I kept smirking and noticed her look away and twiddle her thumbs.

"I…got worried. You haven't been around, so I figured I'd come to see if you were home. But it seems like you beat me here." She walked towards me and stopped when she was close.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It won't happen again!"

"Did I…do something to make you leave?" She quietly asked, making me lose my cool demeanor and look at her sadly.

"No Melody! It was just me!"

"O-Oh…" She looked away, before looking back at me. "Umm…"

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to say…"

"What? Spit it out."

"Don't rush me baka! Ahem…" She sighed and gave me a proud smile. "I just wanted to say that you still owe us sandwiches!" You're kidding.

"Ugh, I guess I don't have any other choice." I groaned and crossed my arms, closing my eyes.

"And…" I heard her whisper silently.

"Hmm? What?"

"And…I would like to walk with you more…if that's ok. I feel like, we drifted apart a little bit." She rubbed her arm. "I'd hate to lose you as a close friend."

"Aw Mel." I laughed, making her squint at me. "You have always been my number one friend, and you always will be!" I gave her a thumbs up.

"…Promise?" She weakly smiled and held up a pinky. I grinned and wrapped my pinky around hers.

"Promise."

* * *

**Took me some time to develop this chapter. Lots of things went down yo. Now that we know Mina is one of the good guys, what will C.O.P try to do next? And will Parappa remember to bring the sandwiches? Review and tell me what you think!**


	5. Author's Note

Alrighty. I have decided to continue this via comic. I know it may upset some of you, but I really want to put this into images rather than just writing it and imagining it all play out. Also, I want to change some things about the story since there are a few plot holes that bother me. So, I am going to start on the comic by the end of the week and will update 1 to 2 pages every week! Tune into the story from there! It will be kinda like a Doujinshi? I dunno. Anyways, my deviantart is and I will be posting it on there!

Thanks in advance for understanding!

-Tilly

EDIT: TOTALLY FORGOT THE URL WHOOPS


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